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Dear Mentor:
| How can I get a multi-year employment visa in the US? |
I have heard about multi-year employment visas being offered by the US to foreigners. How can I apply for such a visa? What are my chances of getting such a visa? How can I improve my chances of getting such a visa? I would very much like to go to the US for employment and perhaps staying there permanently.
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Dear Nikhil:
You are right in that the US does offer multi-year employment visas, known as H1-B, to foreigners. These visas are restricted to highly-skilled workers whose skills are deemed to be highly desirable, because they are not readily available from the current US workforce. The unfortunate part is that getting such a visa is highly competitive. The demand (by employers) for such visas far exceeds the availability (from the government). For example, the quota for this year was exhausted in the first quarter. All future visas will be offered in the coming year. The government intends to increase the quota by a significant amount, but the Bill for this legislation is tied up in the US Congress. It is expected to pass nonetheless. Despite this expected increase, the demand will continue to far exceed the availability.
You can not apply for the multi-year employment visa yourself. Your prospective employer has to file for the visa on your behalf and get clearance from the US Government. Effectively, you must secure an employment offer from a US employer who is then willing to pursue a visa application for you. That is a tall order because often the US employers would first seek international students who are either pursuing or have pursued their education here in the US.
We would encourage you to apply for employment in the US, but at the same time manage your own expectations. Good luck!
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