Hi all,

I am currently doing my Masters in Accounting at a top 20 business school. I'm trying to break into sell-side equity research at a boutique firm in the south. They are interested in hiring me as a full-time associate but they do not have any prior experience in sponsoring h1b visas for international student. If h1b sponsoring will hinder me from getting a full-time offer at the firm, I'm planning to offer to bear all the expenses related to the h1b process. Has any of you guys been through this process before? How much does h1b visa processing cost including the cost of a lawyer etc. ? If the firm is willing to sponsor me and I have an offer before graduation, do I still need to apply for OPT?

I'd really appreciate any helpful advice/information.

Cheers!

I am not a lawyer and haven't gone through this process. But from what I have heard, I can make some suggestions.

First of all, you can absolutely start and pay for the process by yourself, with the blessings of your employer ofcourse, since your employer information is needed in the application.

Your first step would be to get a lawyer who specializes in H1B filing. Few years back it cost around $2500 which included premium processing fee of $1000. My guess is $3,500 would cover the cost of application, premium processing and attorney's fees.

The lawyer you hire will answer all the rest of the questions you have, but as far as I know, if you can get H1B visa right around the time of your graduation, you don't need OPT.

Hello,
I have not been through the process but let me give you my input. By law the fees associated with H1B sponsorship ( which is to be paid to USCIS) can not be paid by the employee. If they are willing to sponsor H1B they have to pay and you can give them back. Regarding the cost of lawyer it depends on whom you hire. Another deciding factor is the no. of employees in the company. If no. of employees is less than 25 and you hire a mediocre lawyer it will cost around $2500. If number of employee is more than 25 the cost can go upto 4-5K. And one more thing this is regular process. If you do premier process it will cost you 1200-1500 bucks extra and you will get decision in 15 days; otherwise it will take 3 months.

Regarding the working in OPT I have seen people who directly have done H1B from F1 ( but it was position in the university). As far as I know you can directly go into H1B. For that company needs to file your H1B starting April 1. If your H1B is approved then you can work but no earlier that october 1 because H1B starts from October 1. But if you have OPT you can start working instantly and do H1B later. So, in my opinion the best thing to do will be get OPT start working and do H1B later. You can get OPT no later than 2 months after your graduation date.

Note: These information are best to my knowledge and may or may not be true. I suggest you to check USCIS site for further info.
Thanks and good luck

I would suggest to go for OPT now and apply for H1b on Advance degree category.
If he applies now he has to apply on general category coz he is not yet graduated.

Yes , you can pay for ur H1B. All u need from employer is signature on I-129 application and proof of employer- employee relationship.

Please consult lawyer for details.This is just from my experience.

Hi,

If you're top 20 business school graduate, you should aim big and try to apply for good national/intl companies which will cover your h1b as well as be willing to apply for GC in future. If you're thinking that well if this company will offer me a job,i'll take it and apply for another job while i'm working there ... well that will be quite difficult ..
 
Having said that, if you do decide to go with this company it is best you apply for OPT, with OPT you won't have to pay taxes, and will give you an opportunity to really evaluate this company and move to another if you so decide without having to worry abt h1b transfers, etc.

H1B fees USCIS fees: $325 (regular filing fee) + $500 (anti-fraud fee)+ $750 (American worker training fee) if your company employs 25 or less employees or $1,500 (if your company employs more than 25 employees) + $1,225 (premium process fee. Optional, but You'll need to do this if you decide to skip OPT) +  any attorney fees ($1000 - $2000).

Thnak you all for your advice.

Houstonweb, does the tax benefit of working with OPT apply even if you've been in the US for more than 5 years? I kind of remember reading somewhere that the tax benefit does not exist beyond 5 years but I am not sure. Your comment also reminded me that the place where I interned last summer had deducted SS and medicare taxes from my pay check, and I am now wondering if I should talk to them and see if there's any way to get that money back. Any suggestions?

Ohh yeah, then you won't qualify for it. 5 yrs rule you have to pay FICA, unless you can prove that you qualify for closer connection exception. But I don't think you can. If you're curious abt closer connection: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96377,00.html

good luck!