Wednesday 30 October 2013

How to find H1B Visa 2014 sponsors ?

Some of you might be planning to apply for H1B visa for this fiscal year of 2014.  USCIS, just like it has done in previous years, will most likely accept H1B Visa 2014 Petitions starting of April 1st.  Depending on your current situation/ status you could have questions like below in your mind.
  • How to find H1B Visa 2014 sponsors ?
  • I am student and completing MS in US, How to get a H1B Visa sponsoring company for 2014 ?
  • I am on H4 visa in America. I would like to work on H1B Visa, How do I find a sponsor ?
  • How to search for H1B Visa 2014 sponsors from India ?
  • I am in US on L1 Visa. I want to move to H1B Visa. How to find 2014 sponsors ?
  • How to get full list of H1B Visa 2014 sponsoring companies in USA ?
  • How to avoid fraudulent companies that say that they sponsor H1B visa ?
Many such questions…Let me help you explain the various options to find H1B Sponsoring companies for fiscal year 2014.
Different options to get H1B visa sponsorship and find companies
There are multiple ways to find a H1B Visa sponsor. Below are some of the various options available based on your network, reach, and capability.
  • H1B  Visa Sponsoring companies Database
  • Global IT Services Companies  TCS, Infosys, CTS, Wipro, etc.
  • Internship – Progression to H1B Visa Sponsorship
  • Consulting Companies in America – Fraud ?
  • H1B Sponsorship through American Universities
Let us take a quick peek at various options in detail.,
H1B Visa 2014 Sponsors  Database :
This is probably the most direct and random way to find a H1B Visa sponsors.  US Labor department publishes all the LCAs information quarterly indicating the list of H1B Sponsors. For latest data, you need to check out the Dept. of labor website : Depart of Labor LCA Data or for archive data you need to check out  website related to FLC Data Center LCA  . The bad part with both of these options is that the data these US Govt. websites publish is in the form on MS Access database or large .txt files with lot of information hard to read .  So, there are websites like MyVisaJobs that have used this Database and published information in a more presentable format. Anyways, that database would have contact information of the exact companies that sponsored H1B visas. You can directly reach out to them by figuring out the companies that fit your requirement.  Honestly, it may not work out very well…But, just an option to at least prepare the list of companies that you need to target to find H1B visa 2014 sponsorship.
Global IT Services Companies TCS, Infosys, CTS, Wipro, etc.
Global IT Services companies like TCS, Infy, CTS, etc.  strategy is to primarily to recruit international students/ professionals and sponsor H1B Visas to them to make them work in America. These companies either sponsor visas to professionals in India with experience or recruit talent in US.  The crux of the issue is to network and find out the requirements in such companies and get their sponsorship for this 2014 fiscal year.  It requires little bit of homework, but it works…These companies are always looking for students/ professionals with experience in certain fields.  They may not give you lucrative salaries, but you will get sponsorship.  If you are not in such companies, try out options, it could potentially work, talk to the hiring managers.  I have known friends who shifted companies  just because they would sponsor H1B visa to work in America and they are in US now.
Internships/ Co-op – Progression to H1B Visa Sponsorship :
If you are in the last semester doing MS or MBA, you can take up OPT / CPT and take up internship or co-op in a company that can potentially sponsor H1B Visa. The trick to this is to find and join a company that does your H1B visa. You can use DOL database ( the one I mentioned above)  to find the list of companies.  Many companies may not even have heard of the visa like H1B Visa. You need to be careful and make conscious decision at the time of internship or co-op. This may not be an issue in large cities in America, where there is startup community and lot of internationals. But, you have to be careful.
Consulting Companies in America – Fraud ?
Until the changes to H1B Visa rules in 2011, consulting companies were the major source of H1B Visa sponsorship. Due to all the abuse of the H1B Program by some of the consulting companies, USCIS introduced lot of changes to H1B visa guidelines to avoid fraud.  With the changes, a good number of H1B fraud companies have been barred from sponsoring H1B Visas.  So, there are still a good number of consulting companies that are run properly that can help you get sponsorship. Again, to find such companies, you need to do thorough analysis regarding the company and personally know someone in the company to avoid fraud. There are quite a few fraud companies that take money from you luring H1B visa and just cheat you.  DOL states that you should not pay the H1B fee, so you should never be charged for it.  So, be careful to avoid fraud.   All in all, be careful and do your due-diligence before you commit to any consulting companies for your 2014 h1b visa sponsorship.   Your best bet is to network with your colleagues or friends and know more about companies.
H1B Sponsorship through American Universities
Many of the academic institutions sponsor H1B visas to internationals either based on academic merit or experience.  In fact, you are not counted towards the H1B Visa cap for getting visa sponsorship.  The only catch is that you cannot transfer your H1B visa to other company once you get H1B visa as it was not counted towards H1B cap. You can only transfer to an academic or research institution.   In any case, seeking H1B sponsorship from an academic institution is definitely a good option for someone on H4 Visa or F1 visa students. I have seen my friend’s wife get a H1B visa sponsorship as she did volunteering at a research lab for some time, as she had the skills they wanted.
All the above mentioned options are some of the ways you can find a H1B Visa sponsor for this 2014 fiscal year and get sponsorship.  You should talk to more people and network to get more information and options regarding companies.  Always, networking will help… Do NOT be fooled by fraudulent consulting companies. Just watch for what they ask and what they say. You can validate them very easily and avoid fraud. Good Luck !

Recommended Posts:
  1. H1B Visa Plan for 2014 - 2015      
  2. How to find H1B Visa 2014 sponsors ?   
  3. Things Need to Check about the Sponsor  
  4. Choosing the right Sponsor   
  5. Negotiation is All That Matters  
  6. CheckList - Do's and Dont's !  

No comments:

Post a Comment