Chile

What are the main requirements for an H-1B1 visa (for Chileans)?

The H-1B1 is the professional work category created when Congress implemented the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement. Six things have to line up before it is available, and they divide neatly between the applicant and the employer. Three concern the person: nationality, the credential, and temporary intent. Three concern the job: that it is a specialty occupation, that there is a real employer, and that the employer has filed a labor attestation with the Department of Labor.

Is USCIS Premium Processing Available for H-1B1 (for Chileans)?

Short answer: no. USCIS premium processing is not available for the H-1B1 classification, whether the beneficiary is a national of Chile or of Singapore. The classification simply has never been designated as eligible for the service.

Are Chileans still eligible to apply for traditional H-1B visas, instead of applying for H-1B1 visas?

Yes. Chileans are still eligible to apply for traditional H-1B visas. Chileans are not required to apply for H-1B1 visas.

H-1B1: Special Chilean H-1B

If you are a citizen of Chile with a U.S. job offer in a professional field, you have, in a sense, already won the lottery. Citizens of most other countries must compete in the annual H-1B lottery for a chance at a work visa. Chileans have their own classification — the H-1B1 — with its own annual allocation, no lottery at all, and a limit that in practice has not been the obstacle the H-1B cap is.

What are the special licensing requirements for H-1B1 applicants (for Chileans)?

Two questions get mixed together here, and they have different answers. The first is whether a U.S. professional license is needed to qualify for H-1B1 classification. The second is whether a license is needed to work in the occupation once in the United States. For the H-1B1 the answers are no and, in many occupations, yes.

Can a Chilean national who is in the U.S. apply to change status to H-1B1 while in the U.S.?

Yes. A national of Chile, currently admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant in a category eligible to change nonimmigrant status, may apply to change to H-1B1 nonimmigrant status. Note that the applicant must be in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant category which is eligible to change nonimmigrant status, of course.

Are extensions and renewals allowed for H-1B1 visas (for Chileans)?

Yes, but the question hides two different processes, and conflating them is the most common source of trouble in this category. An extension of status lengthens the time a person may remain and work in the United States. A renewal replaces an expiring visa so that the person can travel and be admitted again. One is handled by USCIS or at a port of entry; the other by a U.S. consular post abroad. Each has its own timetable.

By Editorial Team , 29 October 2006

Will YouTube Sponsor H-1B Workers after its acquisition by Google?

Many foreign programmers, and other professionals, who would like to work for YouTube and Google wonder whether YouTube and Google sponsor individuals for H-1B visas. As you can see from the following chart, Google does indeed sponsor H-1B workers. Therefore, after the acquisition of YouTube by Google, Google will likely continue to sponsor individuals for H-1B visas provided that the H-1B quota, established by the U.S. government, has not run out.

What are the exceptions to having a post-secondary degree or its equivalent to qualify for an H-1B1 (for Chileans)?

The short answer is that there is no exception that lets someone qualify with no post-secondary credential at all. What the Free Trade Agreement does is narrower and more useful than that: for four named professions, it accepts a different credential in place of the ordinary four-year degree.

Can the H-1B1 principal applicant’s spouse, dependent children, and family accompany him or her to the U.S.?

Yes. The H-1B1 visa (for Chileans) allows the principal applicant to live and work in the United States accompanied by his or her spouse and dependent children.

Note, however, that only spouses and children of H-1B1 work visa holders are eligible for derivative visas. Parents and other family members are NOT eligible for H4 visas.