H-1B Frequently Asked Questions

The H1-B process

How much does the H-1B petition cost? USCIS charges $320 to file the H-1B petition along with a $500 anti-fraud fee for initial H-1B petitions. There is also an International Scholar Services fee of $800. These fees must be paid for by the department (see below).

How do I start the H-1B process? An H-1B visa is an employer sponsored visa, so ISSS must receive a request from your academic department. A brief e-mail from your department to the H-1B advisor is fine. ISSS will work with your department to submit an H-1B petition to USCIS in order to receive an H-1B approval (notice of action form I-797, for class type H-1B) which will give dates of authorized employment. This authorizes MU to employee you in H-1B status. You will still need to obtain an H-1B visa from an U.S. consulate or embassy if you leave the U.S. and want to re-enter or are entering the U.S. for the first time.

What happens after my academic department contacts ISSS? The H-1B advisor will e-mail the department and the scholar separate information regarding material that is needed to process the H-1B petition.

How long does it take to get H-1B status? This is not an easy question to answer because it depends on many factors.

1. You must consider how long it will take for your petition to be completed and ready to mail to USCIS. Typically an H-1B petition can be ready for USCIS submission in about 1 month to 1.5 months. There could be delays with ISSS preparing your petition which include but aren't limited to the following reasons: if it is a particularly high volume time for our office, if there are issues with the prevailing wage, check processing from accounting, or delay in departmental documents. There are many parties involved in preparing an H-1B petition which averages about 50 pages in length.
2. Once your petition is sent to USCIS, expect to wait at least three months for it to be approved under normal processing. You may have to wait longer during peak times for USCIS.

Who is involved with my H-1B petition? It is important to know that there may be several individuals in your department who must work together to submit all the information needed for your petition. In addition, the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center (MERIC) issues the prevailing wage determination and accounting issues the checks for your petition. There are several parties who must coordinate information with ISSS in order for the H-1B petition to be processed.

How long will it take with premium processing? Premium processing has a guaranteed turn around time of 15 days from the date USCIS receives the petition. Although your petition is approved within this time frame, we will still need the hard copy approval notice which usually arrives 1 to 1.5 weeks after that time, which makes a realistic wait of about 3-4 weeks with premium processing.

Who can pay the premium processing fee? The immigration regulations do not specify who must pay for premium processing, although the H-1B petition fees must be paid by the employer.

What if I don't have my diploma? Have your department or school's registrar issue a letter on university letterhead that states all degree requirements are complete and you are only waiting for the conferral of the diploma.

What is the prevailing wage? The H-1B advisor will request the prevailing wage determination from the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center (MERIC) also known as the State Employment Security Agency (SESA). The prevailing wage determination is the wage that SESA determines is the average wage paid to all similarly employed individuals within a certain area (city, state, or region). In order to make this request, the H-1B advisor must receive information from the employing department first. The salary of the prospective H-1B employee must meet or exceed the prevailing wage in order to proceed to the next step in the process of obtaining the H-1B.

What happens once everything is submitted to ISSS? The H-1B advisor will be working closely with your department to gather the needed documents to process your H-1B petition. Once the H-1B petition packet is ready, the scholar and department will receive an e-mail from the H-1B advisor that the petition is ready to be picked up at the International Center front desk. This packet will need to be given to the departmental contact so that the petition can be Fed-Ex'd to USCIS and the last steps can be completed.

What happens once USCIS receives the H-1B petition? ISSS will receive a receipt of filing notice from USCIS that your petition has been received. The receipt is usually received within three weeks after the department mails the petition to USCIS by FedEx. The H-1B advisor will send a copy of this receipt notice as a scanned e-mail attachment to the department and H-1B scholar. Once the approval notice is received from USCIS, the H-1B advisor will also send this as a scanned e-mail attachment along with instructions.

Can I extend my H-1B status after the six-year maximum? We may request an H-1B extension in one year increments if 365 days or more have passed since filing a Labor Certification Application.

If you have an approved I-140 and your application for adjustment of status is delayed due to per country immigrant visa limitations then we can request an extension of your H-1B status in three year increments.

Obtaining H-1B/H-4 visa stamps

What materials do I need to obtain the H-1B visa stamp? A checklist of items is included under the H-1B scholars' "Traveling Abroad" section of the ISSS web site. In addition you will also want to visit the web site of the U.S. embassy/consulate to make an appointment and review their required documents. Appointment times vary from a few days to a few months so plan accordingly.

The U.S. embassy/consulate is asking for the original I-129, how do I obtain that? The original I-129 is required by USCIS with your H-1B petition and becomes part of their permanent file. H-1B scholars have received their visas by using the I-129 copy found on the CD of the scanned H-1B petition that was previously given to them.

What is required to obtain an H-4 visa when my dependents are outside of the U.S.? Your dependents will need your H-1B approval notice (form I-797). Since ISSS issues a CD with a scanned copy of your entire petition, you should already have all documents from ISSS that will be requested. For specific materials, please contact the U.S. embassy/consulate where you plan to apply for other requirements, including proof of relationship, photos and fees.

What is required to obtain H-4 status when my dependents are inside the U.S.? If your dependents are inside the U.S. in another nonimmigrant status, then ISSS can either submit their H-4 change of status request along with your H-1B petition (instructions given along with H-1B instructions), or give you a checklist of items needed to file for a change of status. Please contact the H-1B advisor for the form and checklist if your dependents wish to change status within the U.S.