H1B, do it yourself?

H1B, do it yourself?
Posted March 13, 2007 - 4:36pm

As a postdoctor at UCLA, did anyone have experience to apply H1B for themselves?

Frankly, the policy of UCLA really sucks. They charge you big $$, and let lawyer handle H1B application for postdoctoral scholars. My friend working at a immigration law firm told me that the lawyers never do anything helpful to your case, they just mess things around. Why can't we prepare the whole package for ourselves?

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ajay's picture

H1B is an employer based

March 14, 2007 - 12:40am — ajay

H1B is an employer based visa. As far as I know, the petition needs to come from UCLA. Whether you use the recommended lawyer or not (or do it yourself) may be upto you. You should check with the Dashew center if this is possible (I suspect it is, but havent heard anyone do it). Alternatively, you can negotiate with your PI that they pay the fee.

It is true that UCLA's policy really puts a hole in a postdoc's pocket as far as H1Bs are concerned. However, the H1B salary scale may be a bit higher than the minimum of the UCLA postdoc scale, which you can use to offset the lawyer fees.

PS: I am no expert in these matters... please contact the officials for more precise information.

Cheers!

"I refuse to believe that everybody refuses to believe the truth" - Lisa Simpson

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