H-1B Status for Teachers: A Popular Recruitment Option

School Districts that are experiencing skill shortages often attempt to file a new H-1B visa status petition for prospective teachers. Unfortunately, they are often unsuccessful as the H-1B visa quotas can fill rapidly. In particular in 2014 the yearly quota which was 85,000 was filled within 5 days.

This situation means that School District Administrators may have to file for an H-1B Visa which is cap exempt for a teacher who hasn’t held H-1B visa status in the last 6 years. The administrator has to be able to provide sufficient proof that their school district is exempted from the yearly H-1B quota.

There are currently specific School Districts who have been exempted from the annual H-1B quota.In order to fulfill the qualifications for this H-1B quota exemption, USCIS states that the school district must show that:

• it is a nonprofit
  
• it has an Affiliation Agreement with a named University.
  
  

The specific School District must have applied for, and been given approval for, an H-1B petition which has been filed under the University Affiliation Numerical Quota Exemption since the year 2006.

When filing for an H-1B visa status petition that is new, with USCIS, the School District filing the petition must provide a single copy of the University Affiliation Agreement as well as a copy of the Approval notice 1-797 from the quota exempt H-1B petition which was recently filed.

If a teacher with H-1B status wants to transfer to another school district, a transfer petition needs to be filed with USCIS.

If you at this moment are a teacher working on an H-1B visa status, or an administrator of a school district and you would like to file on the behalf of a teacher who is currently on an H-1B Visa a transfer petition then the Teacher who is in possession of the H-1B Visa must have been at an earlier stage filed as exempt of a cap due to the Numerical Limitation Exemption through a University Affiliation.

Proof of this is by showing the USCIS Form I-129 H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement that has already been filed with the USCIS or by showing that the School District is exempt from the yearly H1-B quota.

Some School Districts are already exempt from the yearly number counting H-1B quota. It is far easier for both the new teacher and the school district to recruit teachers for unfilled vacancies using the H-1B visa status.

Return to "The H-1B Visa" to learn more.