With the tightening of immigration policy in the United States, more and more international students in the United States are concerned about how to stay in the United States and continue to work after completing their studies in the United States and eventually obtaining a green card in the United States. Under normal circumstances, it is extremely unlikely that international students want to pass the national interest exemption or the immigration of outstanding talents. Therefore, the most common and traditional way to transfer a student visa to a green card is to apply through the process of F 1 (student visa) -H 1B (work visa)-green card.
F 1 option
F 1 Students in the United States have one-year optional internship time after graduation, or choose short-term internship. The OPT application must be approved by the school, then by the US Department of Homeland Security, and finally get OPT qualification.
Applicants must hold a valid F- 1 visa and apply for OPT within 90 days before completing their degree; The OPT job applied for must be related to my major, otherwise it will be regarded as illegal work; If students do not apply for OPT within 60 days after graduation, they must leave the United States.
OPT is a common way for many students from China to stay in the United States after graduation. Applicants can use the legal status of OPT to practice and find a suitable job after the student visa expires.
Option H 1B
H 1B is a short-term work visa for foreign professionals in the United States. The US Immigration Service starts accepting applications every April 1. If the application is approved, it will take effect on 10/month 1 day. If students find a formal job within the validity period of OPT, they can successfully apply for an H 1B visa and work legally in the United States.
Basic requirements for applying for H 1B:
1 must have a legal identity (for example, F- 1/OPT).
Bachelor degree or above, or have enough work experience in this field.
Applicants must be employed in specialized industries closely related to their degrees.
The salary of 4H 1B visa applicants is generally required to be not lower than the general salary of the same industry in the region.
Application materials to be prepared:
Materials prepared by the Owner:
1 labor contract
Company profile (scale, business, financial status, number of employees, etc.). ), the latest tax return, the detailed description of the position applied for, and the blank stationery of the person in charge of the company.
Application fee, government fee and anti-fraud fee.
Materials to be prepared by the applicant:
1 passport (including visa to the United States)
2 license
3 degree certificate
4 graduation certificate
5 transcripts during school.
6 resume
7 photos
Letter of recommendation from former employer
9. Award-winning certificates and honorary certificates, etc.
Graduation season is coming, and I am faced with the problems of finding a job and studying in the United States. Next, I will give you a detailed introduction to studying in the United States.
When it comes to finding a job, you have to mention the STEM major. STEM is the acronym of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic, which generally refers to science and engineering majors. But it doesn't mean that all science and engineering majors belong to STEM. If you want to see which major belongs to STEM, you can find it in official website.
The main difference between STEM major and non-STEM major for China students is that STEM major has a two-year OPT extension. What does this mean? Every international student with a bachelor's degree or above studying in the United States has the opportunity to apply for a one-year temporary work visa within two months after graduation. This temporary work visa is called OPT. Moreover, there is only one chance to apply for a degree at each stage, which means that if you study for two masters, you will only have one chance to choose. For STEM students, one-year OPT plus two-year OPT extension is equivalent to a three-year temporary work visa in the United States.
For non-STEM students, OPT is valid for one year. In this year, there are three months of unemployment, which is the time for students to find jobs after graduation. If you don't find a job within three months after OPT takes effect, OPT will become invalid immediately, and it is illegal to stay in the United States. You must leave the United States as soon as possible, or you may have problems re-entering. Fortunately, students who want to stay in the United States and find jobs slowly don't have to worry too much about having to leave the United States immediately because their legal status is invalid. Because of the job requirements during OPT, it can be said that it is very relaxed. This job can be full-time, part-time or even volunteer. As long as you report to the office of foreign students in charge of the school in time and have a job, you can continue to play happily in the United States. One thing to note is that unemployment is cumulative. If you change jobs halfway, the transition period between two jobs is also considered as unemployment period.
For STEM students, it is not so simple to get OPT for two more years. If you want to extend the effectiveness of OPT, you must submit an application for extension before the first year of OPT expires. The conditions for extension of approval are: it must be a full-time paid job, and the company must be a company recognized by the US government, and you can choose to extend it. Once the US government approves OPT, it will take two years.
After getting OPT, there is no guarantee that you can stay and work in the United States for a long time. If you want to stay, you must get an H 1b visa within the valid time of OPT. H 1b is a long-term visa for China people to work in the United States, and it is also the first stage of applying for a green card in the United States. It is very difficult to get an H 1b visa. First find a company that is willing to help foreigners with H 1b, and then ask the company to help find a lawyer to prepare the application materials for H1B. In the whole process, the company may spend 3000-5000 dollars to pay the lawyer's fee and application fee. After the application materials are submitted, it is necessary to wait until April of each year 1, that is, the drawing date of H1B. What does the lottery mean? Because there are too many people who submit applications for H 1b every year, and the number of H 1b places given by the US government is limited every year, only a part of the applicants will be randomly selected to have the opportunity to be audited. There is no clear data on the winning rate, and the Immigration Bureau claims that the H 1b lottery is purely random. What's the winning percentage? In fact, the lottery ticket was drawn twice. First of all, all applicants draw lots together, and then among those who are not drawn, applicants with master's degree or above will draw again. The winning rate of undergraduates is about half, while the winning rate of masters and doctors will be higher. There is only one chance to draw lots every year, so non-STEM students will basically have to find another way out if they don't win. However, if STEM students fail to win in the first year, most of them can win in the second and third years.
After getting the H 1b visa, nothing will get better. The lottery only gives an opportunity to review the materials, and whether to grant the H 1b visa in the end depends on the specific situation of the application materials. The core of the application materials is to emphasize that this position must be the applicant himself and cannot be replaced by a native American. So it can be said that the more technical and professional the job, the easier it is to pass the trial! The criteria for this review have been changing. Obama was more relaxed when he was president, but Trump became very strict when he took office. After the trial of H 1b, you will get an H 1b visa, which will take effect from 65438+1 October1day of the year of application, with a validity period of 4 years, and will be automatically renewed for another 4 years after the expiration of the validity period. A person has only one chance of H 1b in his life. After you get H 1b, you can start preparing to apply for a green card. At home, there are restrictions while working in the United States with H 1b visa. The policy before 20 16 stipulated that H 1b could not be unemployed. Once you lose your job, your H 1b visa will automatically expire. Obama changed to 60 days of unemployment before leaving office. After resigning, H 1b is still valid as long as you start a new job 60 days later.
The above is the flow of most international students from graduation to work. Of course, there are other ways to stay and work in the United States for a long time. For example, non-profit organizations and government agencies can directly get H 1b without drawing lots. And this is only the current policy, because the policy is adjusted every year.
Finally, I hope this article will help you!