H-1B Visa for Employee of Home Business

I.S. Law Firm secured approval of H-1B work visa for an employee of a small home-based business.

In securing this approval, we overcame a request for evidence that was questioning the validity of employment based on the fact that the petitioning organization was a small home-based company. In our response to the request for evidence, we argued that the regulations do not require that the place of employment be a non-residential dwelling. Plenty of U.S. businesses are based in the owner’s residence. In fact, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that more than half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home. Not only is it common for small businesses to be based at a residential location, it is also a norm for such businesses to hire employees, also to be based at the home location. However, home-based companies often face higher scrutiny from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in showing that the business is genuine and capable of accommodating the H-1B worker.

Under the H-1B visa classification, an employer may sponsor temporary non-immigrant visas for alien professionals or specialty occupation workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. H-1B status can be approved for a period of up to three years. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can, at their discretion, grant H-1B status for a period shorter than three years. After the initial H-1B period, extensions may be filed until the worker has spent a total of six years in H-1B status.

Individuals who currently hold a valid non-immigrant visa may apply for H-1B status while in the United States. For example, a holder of F-1 student status may seek to change his or her status to H-1B. However, if the worker is overseas, or needs to travel abroad, he or she will need to apply for an H-1B visa at a U.S. consulate.

Attorneys at I.S. Law Firm have helped many foreign workers to obtain H-1B visas, change their status to that of H-1B worker in the United States, extend H-1B status, or change H-1B employers. To learn more about our services and for consultation, please contact us at +1-703-527-1779 or via e-mail: [email protected].

PLEASE NOTE THAT CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DESCRIBED BELOW DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY I.S. LAW FIRM, PLLC.