H-1B for Computer Programmers

H-1B for Computer Programmers (December 22, 2018)

The Immigration and Nationality Act allows an employer to petition for an H-1B visa on behalf of an alien beneficiary if the alien beneficiary will be working in a “specialty occupation.”  To qualify as a “specialty occupation” a job must require “theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States.”

Time passes, technology advances, and the USCIS under different administrations alters what qualifies as a specialty occupation. Reasonable minds can differ when occupations are in transition; however, the current industry standards and the OOH indicate that most computer programmers have a bachelor’s degree in a computer related field. Most should mean normal, which is the H-1B standard.