When considering an H-1B visa application, USCIS will verify not only that the job itself is a “specialty occupation,” but also that the H-1B applicant is actually qualified. An applicant can prove she qualifies with a US degree in the relevant field (or foreign degree determined to be equivalent), or a license to practice in the state where she has a job offer.
While a degree or licence is certainly the easiest way to show qualification, every year applicants without either are granted H-1B visas because they have been able to document that their knowledge of the speciality occupation is equivalent to that normally obtained in a degree program. There are several ways to do this:
College-Level Equivalency Exam. If there is an equivalency exam for your specialty from a recognized testing service like CLEP, USCIS will accept passing results on the exam in lieu of a degree. Unfortunately, due to the specialized nature of many H-1B occupations, sufficiently specialized exams are not available in the majority of cases.
Membership in a professional association. USCIS will accept membership in a nationally-recognized US or foreign professional association in lieu of a degree if the association has rigorous admissions standards ensuring that it accepts only practitioners competent in the specialized field.
Equivalent training/experience/education plus professional standing. Under this standard, USCIS will consider the totality of your experience, education, and practical training in your specialized field, along with evidence that you are recognized by experts as a competent professional. The most common way to show degree equivalency, I’ll discuss the details of this method below.
When considering the totality of an H-1B applicant’s experience in her field, USCIS uses the rough rule of thumb that three years of specialized work experience or training equals one year of college-level study. When a four-year degree would normally be required, for instance, an applicant with two years of college-level academic credit towards the relevant degree would need to show at least six years of specialized work experience to qualify for an H-1B visa.
When using experience to substitute for education, it is not enough to simply show that you worked in the general field for a certain amount of time. You will also have to prove that you were working at an H-1B level during that time. Take the example of an applicant seeking an H-1B visa to work as a systems analyst . If she has ten years of experience in her general field and two years of relevant college-level education, she needs to show at least six years of specialty work experience to make up for the missing two years of education. She was working in the general field for 10 years, so she should be set, right? Not necessarily. If, for instance, she spent the first five years of her career working as a programmer before becoming a systems analyst, USCIS will not count the first five years of her experience towards the six years she needs for H-1B eligibility. Even though her experience as a programmer undoubtedly provided valuable skills that she still uses as a systems analyst, USCIS considers the occupation of “programmer” to be below the H-1B level, and therefore will not count it as relevant experience on an H-1B visa application. Only the final five years she spent as a systems analyst will be counted, leaving her one year short of the experience needed.
Nor is it enough simply to provide USCIS with an H-1B level job title and proof that you worked for a certain amount of time. You will need to provide evidence showing that your work actually was at an H-1B level. This evidence frequently takes the form of an evaluation from an expert who, after interviewing you and your past and current supervisors, has determined that you have worked at an H-1B level for a certain number of years. Documentation that other people filing the same or similar positions have H-1B qualifications is also helpful.
Once you have shown that you have a combination of training, education, and experience equivalent to the relevant degree, you must then document that you have achieved “professional standing” in your field. This can be done in one of five ways:
1. Detailed evaluations from two recognized experts in your field concluding that you are competent to practice at an H-1B level. These evaluations must be thorough, and as a result are often time-consuming and expensive. A successful evaluation would usually includes personal interviews with you and your past and current supervisors, a review of your work portfolio, review of syllabi from any course work, and even a tour of the your work site to document the types of projects you and similar employees are engaged in.
2. Detailed evaluation from one recognized expert concluding that you have made a “significant contribution” to your field.
3. Membership in a recognized US or foreign association in your field that requires more than payment of dues for admission.
4. Published material by or about you in respected books, prestigious newspapers, or professional journals.
5. Licensure to practice in a foreign country.
To summarize, in order to show degree equivalency through work experience, add up the amount of education and work experience you have using the three years experience = one year of college rule of thumb, and gather evidence that your work experience was at an H-1B level. Then document your professional standing through expert evaluations, publications, foreign licensure, or membership in a professional organization.
It’s important to note that this is a rough rule of thumb to arrive at the minimum amount of documentation that you need to include in your application. Meeting the minimum is no guarantee that USCIS will find you qualified. A person with 12 years of H-1B level experience but no college-level education, for instance, would technically qualify under the rule of thumb, but such petitions are rarely accepted without an exceptionally strong showing of professional standing.
If you are a professional with years of experience but without a college degree and are interested in applying for an H-1B visa, I would be happy to evaluate your case in a free consultation. Contact me and we’ll get started!
Hi. I want to apply for tier 2 vise. I am here now on student tier 4 vise. I dont pass any degree here. Previous 3 year im n uk. I hve my own country bachlor degree so its possible to apply for tier 2 visa?
Hi Khan,
It sounds like you may be asking about immigration to the UK. I am a US immigration attorney, and only practice US immigration law. You should seek advice from an attorney in the UK.
The great question is regarding associate degrees, related to an Engineering Technician or mechatronics. This is not a bachelors degree, but requires two years of college to be graduated. After the graduation, the student could work with an CPT. My question is: after the CPT, is it possible to get a work wisa?
Hi Carlos,
You would not be able to qualify for an H1b based on an associate’s degree alone. For an H1b, you must have a four-year degree or the equivalent. Your associate’s degree + the experience you gain on CPT would be considered in the determination of whether you have the equivalent of a four-year bachelor’s degree, but alone they would not be enough to qualify you for an H1b.
Best,
Sarah
Thank you for thorough explanation. I would like to ask you whether I can be qualified. So, I was supposed to graduate this December 2015 and finished my required course work, but I ended up being a part time student for spring 2016. However, I obtained EAD card (starting January) and my job offer got delayed to start July. If I can successfully maintain my opt status, would I be able to qualifiy for H1B applicant for year 2016 in April? (I was a full time student for four years but I will obtain my degree in May 2016. I don’t know whether being full time student for four years can be same as equivalent to having a bachelor degree)
Hi Yuna,
If you can get a letter from your registrar confirming that you have already completed all coursework required to complete your degree, you can apply this April. It will not matter that you are still attending school as long as the registrar will confirm you have completed the coursework needed for graduation.
I have Diploma + 7 years of experience, Am I eligible for H1B visa?
Hi Vinoth,
This would depends on what type of diploma you are talking about. High school? No, this work not work. College? Depends on what your major field of study was. Non-degree diploma from a special training program? Depends on the subject and the amount and quality of coursework.
I am in a similar situation this year. I complete my bachelor’s degree in computer science on May, 2016. However, I have about one and a half years working experience as an undergraduate research assistant in a CS lab. Would this experience be considered H1B-level for a software engineering job?
Hi Tazz,
They would likely not accept this work to fill in your last semester since it was done as a student assistant. I’m not a credentials evaluator so I don’t have the last word here (you would have to have an official evaluation done by a professional service for a more definitive answer), but in my experience I would be surprised if this worked. If you have completed all courses needed for your computer science major, a better option for you could be to apply based on the fact that you have completed all coursework for your major, even though you have not yet graduated and are finishing up non-related courses or electives that are not necessarily required for your major. I have done this successfully in the past with a letter from the registrar confirming that you have completed all work needed for the major, even though you have not yet graduated.
Best,
Sarah
Hi,
I’m from the UK and currently in the process of setting up an Animation Company with several of my very close US friends. The plan is for me to move over to the US once the company is off the group but we’re not sure which Visa is the most appropriate? Would the company need to sponsor me as an employee or is something else applicable as I’m one of the directors? Another of our concerns is that I don’t hold a degree, what affect with this have on proceeding?
Kind Regards,
Rebecca
Hi there, I am curious to know about musicians who have won a position in a major U.S. orchestra, such as the Boston or San Francisco Symphonies. Would they qualify for an H1-B visa since they have proven themselves to be the best candidate for the job through the audition and offer from the orchestra even without a degree in music? Additionally, I am part of the AFM, the American Federation of Musicians, the union that every musician who plays for a symphony orchestra is required to be a part of.
Thanks!
Hi Jared,
Interesting question! In order to qualify for an H1B, you would need to show that generally, similar orchestras almost always require that their musicians have at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in experience (~12 years). If a degree is not typically a key requirement, it would be hard to get an H1B. Even if it is a key requirement, you might still want to explore another option that is available to artists and musicians–theO1 visa. The “extraordinary ability” standard may sound daunting, but by USCIS policy, it is actually a lower bar for artists and musicians than it is for other fields. If you’ve gotten an offer from a prestigious orchestra in the US, you very well may qualify. In my office we have an attorney (Adi) who has extensive experience doing O1s for artists and musicians, so if you are interested in discussing the details, I would suggest setting up a consultation with her.
Best,
Sarah