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

The H-1B1 is a specialty occupation classification created by the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement and written into the immigration statute at INA 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1). It is a close cousin of the H-1B, but it works differently in three ways that shape everything below: it is applied for directly at a U.S. consular post rather than through a USCIS petition, it draws on its own annual allocation of 5,400 numbers set aside for Singaporean nationals, and it is granted one year at a time. Qualifying is a joint exercise. The worker must fit the classification, and the employer must make a wage and working conditions attestation to the Department of Labor before the visa can be issued.

What the applicant must show

• Singapore citizenship. Nationality is what matters, not residence. The statute identifies eligible applicants as nationals of Singapore as defined in Annex 1A of the agreement.
• A position that is a specialty occupation. For H-1B1 the term is defined at INA 214(i)(3) as an occupation requiring both the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and, as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States, a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty or its equivalent. Engineering, mathematics, the physical sciences, computer science, medicine and health care, education, biotechnology and business specialties such as management and human resources are typical examples.
• Credentials that match the specialty. The usual showing is a post-secondary degree representing at least four years of study in the field of specialization. Two qualifications on that: a small number of occupations are treated as exceptions to the degree requirement, and work experience can substitute for formal education under the equivalency rules.
• An employer. The classification is built around an offer of employment from a U.S. employer that files the required attestation, so self-employment and independent contracting do not fit it.
• Temporary intent. This is where H-1B1 parts company with H-1B. INA 214(b) removes the presumption of immigrant intent for the H(i) classifications generally but expressly keeps it for subclause (b1), so an H-1B1 applicant, unlike an H-1B petition beneficiary, must satisfy the consular officer that the stay in the United States will be temporary.

What the employer must do

Before the visa is issued or the status granted, the employer has to obtain a certified labor condition application from the Department of Labor, and it may not be submitted more than six months before the employment start date. Under INA 212(t) the employer attests that it will pay the higher of the actual wage paid to similarly employed staff or the prevailing wage for the occupation in the area, that working conditions will not adversely affect workers similarly employed, that there is no strike or lockout in the occupational classification at the place of employment, and that notice of the filing has been given to any bargaining representative or, if there is none, posted or sent electronically to employees in that occupational classification. The application also specifies the number of workers sought, the occupational classification, the wage rate and conditions, and the period and place of employment.

How the application is made

Because H-1B1 is not petition-based, there is no petition filing with USCIS for a first-time application from abroad. The applicant applies for the visa at a U.S. consular post . USCIS becomes involved only where a person already in the United States seeks to change into H-1B1 status or to extend it.