Applying for a New Employee H-1B at Your Expansion Stage Company

Have you ever hired an employee who required an H1-B sponsorship? If you haven’t done so already, you may find the need to do so as your expansion stage company adds to its staff and management teams.

Since I offer recruiting support to OpenView, I am helping to facilitate the process of applying for a new employee H-1B Visa and for a future employee who currently is on an H-1B.

As an Employer sponsoring an H1-B applicant, we must complete an I-129 form which requires the following information:

1. Name, address, telephone number, and fax number of the Employer
2. The year the company was established
3. The IRS tax identification number
4. The total number of employees. The government filing fee is lower for companies with fewer than 25 employees.
5. The gross annual income for the previous year
6. The net annual income for the previous year
7. Do full-time employees receive any type of compensation other than salary, i.e. health insurance, dental insurance, etc. If so, what type of compensation and what is the annual value of such compensation?
8. The name and title of the person form your company who will be signing the INS petitions and their address (if different from above)

The above information must be submitted to the lawyer you are working with to apply for the new employee H-1B, and that lawyer will also work directly with your future employee to obtain more information/documentation such as the employee’s passport, degree verification, employment contracts, and previous W-2s, if they exist. Although you may feel somewhat rushed in this process because of the desire to get your new employee on board, do not be afraid to ask for quotes from several lawyers as their legal fees may vary greatly.