Applying H1B Visas – Sample Plan

Applying H1B Visa 2015 – Sample Plan

Below is the sample plan with information on what you need to do at every step. It should give you enough information and time to plan for this year’s H1B visa petition filing. Depending on the activity, you would have to carry out few activities in parallel. It is assumed that your profile is

Month	Dates	H1B Visa Application Activity
January	15th  – 31st	Research on H1B Visa sponsoring companies. You need to create a list of all the companies that are likely to sponsor H1B Visa for your profile.  Read article :  How to find H1B Visa 2015 Sponsors. You use our H1B Visa Sponsors Database to look for companies that sponsor H1B visas in a particular City or Zipcode. You will apply for jobs during this period with these companies and do job interviews with the companies. Think of this period as intensive job search. If you are in US and doing internship at a company, you would need to check with them, if they would sponsor H1B Visa for you. If Not, you need to do the above.
February	1st   – 15th
February	15th  – 31st	You need to make sure, you have an offer on the table from a H1B Sponsoring company. If you get multiple job offers, it is even better. You have the choice to negotiate, before you finalize the company. Verify the H1B Visa Sponsoring companies – Due diligence on the above list of sponsors you have created and the companies that you interviewing with.  You will need to dig into details like the types of jobs and LCAs these companies have filed, including approvals, denials, etc.  You can use our H1B Visa Sponsors Database for the same. Check main menu above.
February	15th  – 31st	Secure all the required documents for filing the H1B visa application. Typical set of documents you would need are transcripts, degree certificates, experience letters, etc. Read article H1B Visa Petition Filing Check list.
February	15th  – 31st	Negotiations with H1B sponsoring companies.  Usually, you will talk to companies as part of the HR round or consulting companies and finalize the offer.  Read the below articles What to Ask H1B employer  before offer letter How to Negotiate  Salary & benefits in consulting
February	21st – 28th	You need to finalize the H1B Sponsoring company by this week. If you have multiple offers looking attractive, you need to put them in an excel and rank them based on various aspects like salary, benefits, good will, brand, etc.  If you are joining a consulting company, ensure that you know someone in that company, talk to someone working there so that you know the ground reality.
March	1st – 7th	You need to work with your employer and their attorney for filing H1B petition. You will need to send the documents, usually only scan copies of the documents are requested by attorney. Do NOT provide any origianls. Read article on What NOT to give to H1B Employer to file petition. Send out all the scan copies via email. If anything required as hard copy, just courier the same.  It is critical that you work with your attorney and have it ready so that they file for your LCA during this week itself. Your LCA has to be filed this week as it can take a week to be processed.  As soon as you have a decision made, just work with attorney and ensure they file the LCA for you.
March	8th – 24th	You need to check with your attorney and employer, if they have all the documents and everything is on track. This is the most busiest time for employers and attorneys. If everything went well and your attorney has all the paperwork, there is no activity for you.  Just keep tabs on everything so that you don’t hear last minute surprises.
March	24th – 31st	You have no activity.  Your attorney/ H1B sponsor would work with companies like UPS, FedEx, USPS to deliver your H1B visa application petition exactly on April 1st, 2014,  which is a Tuesday.

Changes Made To UK's Tier 1, Tier 2 Immigration Rules Programmes And The Dependents Scheme

According to news reports, some minor changes have been made to some categories of immigrant visas on the UK. These changes in the rules have been made effective from April 6, 2014. There are three main categories of programs which have undergone changes in the rules. Immigrants can apply for a suitable vacancy under the Tier 2 programme, if this vacancy remains unfilled by a ‘settled worker’. This rule is applicable for many sub-streams but each of those cases has some specific requirements/conditions, as well.

However, whichever the stream, the sponsoring employer must adhere to a salary threshold, whatever the sub-stream. The different steams have witnessed an increase in the salary threshold of 0.9%, but this increase applies only to those whose certificates of sponsorship were issued on or after April 6, 2014. Also, those who are applying for entry clearance or general Tier 2 stream the Intra-Company Transfer stream, can be granted a leave of five years at most, if it is their first application, instead of the current three years, but this can be done only by paying a higher fee.

The Tier 1 programme offers the applicants the opportunity to immigrate to UK on varied grounds, while also having the options for staying in that country permanently. Each sub-stream under this pogramme has its own specific requirements. Now, under Tier 1, and under the ‘Exceptional Talent visa’, under the present rules, a person can apply for ‘Exceptional Talent Visa’ if he/she is/has been a luminary or emerging luminary or a recognized luminary in science, engineering, medicine, humanities, arts, etc. Under the new rules brought into effect, the list of these fields has been updated to include persons of exceptional claibre in the sector/field of digital technology, who are endorsed by Tech City UK. Up to 200 endorsements in the digital technology programme sector can be made under this Tier 1 programme.

Also, some more notable and quite comprehensive changes have been made with respect to rules regarding dependants of immigrants. The main change under the new rules is that only those dependents whose sponsors settled under a points-based scheme qualify, unlike in the earlier system.

BEST WAY TO FIND A JOB IN QATAR

Over the last few years  I have seen that what people are really interested in is jobs. So here are a list of ten ways to find a job in Qatar:

1. Find an agency (we list several job agencies here: Qatar Job Agencies) but be careful - some of the more disreputable ones will illegally charge you money for the privilige of using your services.

2. Browse local ads in newspapers like the Gulf Times and the Peninsula.

3. Browse online Qatar jobs sites such as our Qatar jobs listing.

4. Let the employers find you: Upload your CV to a site such as Bayt.com. (Make sure your CV is in tip-top condition - read our article on CV advice before submitting it!)

5. Make use of Linked In and other professional networking sites. I have one friend who got a job interview when he met the CEO of a major company via Linked In.

6. Browse industry specific jobs sites such as PlaneJobs.com or catererglobal.com. (This is how I found my job here!)

7. Go directly to the websites of companies in your industry. Companies such as QP maintain large vacancy sections where they directly advertise jobs. You can read about the benefits of QP jobs and find a direct link to their website on our webpage here: QP Jobs.

8. Send out speculative CV's. I worked for one company that only ever recruited from random CV's sent to their office.

9. Network. Qatar Living is a mine of useful local information. Don't spam with your details, but do take ask friendly locals about where to look for jobs, job opportunities e.t.c. Also check out our own forum Qatar Chatter and I Love Qatar.

10. Coming to Qatar: The final method is the one we least recommend, but for the sake of completeness we are adding it here. Coming to Qatar is expensive and risky (you might not find a job) but it does work for some people. In particular, I met a couple who found a job with the a hotel after coming to Qatar and visiting all the hotels in turn. Be aware, though, that 'local' contracts' are not always as good as international contracts.