Envoy Filing H1B Onboarding Guide
Envoy Filing H1B Onboarding Guide
VISA PETITION
WITH
Table of Contents
01 VISA OVERVIEW 3
02 THE APPLICATION PROCESS 5
03 RENEWAL OPTIONS 11
The H visa program allows international employees to enter the United States and work
for a fixed period of time. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) created
multiple subcategories for the most common employment situations.
The H-1B visa is designated for individuals working in a specialty occupation. These
professions usually fall into the following industries: healthcare, biotechnology, human
resources, education, engineering, information technology, computer sciences and
management. Additionally, the visa petitioner must have a bachelor’s degree (or foreign
equivalent) and be paid at least the prevailing wage for the job.
Validity Period
RENEWALS TIP
INITIAL STAY TOTAL STAY
Extensions of up to H-1B holders who’ve completed
172,000 236,000
FY2015
FY2017
233,000
85,000 FY2016
TOTAL PETITIONS
accepted NUMBER OF DAYS
BEFORE CAP REACHED
20,000 2017
2016
2015 7 DAYS
SPECIALTY WORKERS WITH 2014
advanced degrees
DATA GATHERING
CASE FINALIZED
Depends
days
on HR
4 Customer review of case 1-3 EMPLOYER
business days
ETA 9035 Labor Condition Application (LCA)
5 submitted to Department of Labor
ENVOY
7-10
7
1-2
FILING ACTIVITIES
weeks
GOVERNMENT
receipt number posted
months
processing
15 days w/
premium
4-6
Supporting Documentation
Employee Documents: • All prior I-20 Certificates of Eligibility for
Nonimmigrant Students, if applicable
• Passport
• All prior dates spent inside the United States in
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record
H-1B and L-1 Intracompany Transferee status
• Diploma
• Visa stamp
• Official transcripts or mark sheets
• Education evaluation
• Resume or curriculum vitae
• Recommended if you have a non-U.S. degree.
• All previous form I-797 Approval Notices Contact the customer support team for more
• Pay stubs for the last two pay periods information.
• Previous employment authorization document
cards, if applicable
Note: This is not a complete list of documents, and all might not apply to your
particular case. Attorneys will upload a list specific to your case once they finish
reviewing your Questionnaire.
To complete this step, submit the case for another attorney review.
Updates that are received from the government agency will be posted in your
Communication Center.
USCIS takes three to five months to process any H-1B case. Some important dates and
timelines are included below.
Important Dates
BY MARCH 20 When attorneys file LCA
• The certified LCA must be received by March 31 for the attorneys to file
the H-1B application.
1ST WEEK The first week USCIS accepts H-1B visa applications. In the event that April 1 falls on a
OF APRIL weekend or government holiday, the lottery will open the following business day.
APRIL 7 The likely date USCIS will stop accepting cap submissions.
MAY-JUNE Receipt numbers for petitions accepted into the lottery will be provided by the USCIS.
If your petition was not accepted in the lottery, the government will return your
application to Envoy via mail.
OCTOBER 1 First day a new H-1B holder can begin work. You will have to wait until the change
of status is approved to begin working, unless you are holding another status that
provides work authorization.
ENVOY - FILING AN H-1B VISA PETITION 9
APPLICATION PROCESS
02
Transfer Cases
Transfer cases don’t have to follow this timeline since they are not subject to the cap. Instead, your new
employer can sponsor the transfer petition at any time of the year.
Post Approval
When can you begin working? There are two options:
1. You may begin working with your new employer as soon as USCIS has received your petition packet.
Once we have confirmation from our shipping service that your packet arrived at its destination, we’ll let
you know that you can begin working.
2. Some companies prefer to wait until they have received an official receipt notice from USCIS to allow
you to begin working. If this is the case in your situation, the receipt number will arrive in two to three
weeks if the petition was filed without premium processing and within 72 hours if it was filed with
premium processing.
Note: Cases can be filed with premium processing, which speeds up the USCIS adjudication process.
However, it does not give the petition priority status over other Envoy cases.
PREMIUM PROCESSING
You can elect to have an H-1B cap case premium processed. This allows you
to hear back from USCIS earlier if the case was accepted into the lottery
and will provide expedited adjudication after acceptance, but does not
increase the chance of being accepted.
Learn more about the green card application process in the Green Card
Overview for Employees.
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