H-1B Petitions
H-1B sponsorship is normally reserved for long-term or permanent salaried employees at Yale and requests for sponsorship are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by OISS. The job must be full-time and the duration cannot be for less than one year (OISS recommends the maximum three-year period for any applications.) The hiring department at Yale must pay all immigration fees which are approximately $3,500. In some cases, H-1b sponsorship may not be possible if the job requirements or the employee's education and experience do not meet the requirement of “Specialty Occupation.” The process of preparing an H-1B application involves OISS doing a complete analysis of the specialty occupation criteria, and ensuring the job meets U.S. Department of Labor regulations about occupations and minimum salary requirements. It is rare that an H-1B is approved in less than 4 months using the expedited Premium Processing. Without paying the expedite fee the normal processing times range from 9-12 months. Nationally there has been a dramatic increase in the government questioning H-1B applications which can lead to lengthy processing times.
