By applying for an H visa (H-1B, H-2, or H-3) to come to the U.S., you are making representation to the U.S. government that you are seeking to enter the U.S. to work with, or be trained by, the petitioning employer pursuant to the terms and conditions of the approved petition. Therefore it is absolutely imperative for you to fully understand the terms and conditions of your employment or training arrangement before submitting your nonimmigrant visa application.

You must carefully review the entire visa petition, including the supporting documents to ensure that you are fully knowledgeable and aware of the petitioning employer´s business activities as well as the position offered in question.

If you had been arrested anywhere in the world and/or ever had problem with US immigration (such as deportation, overstaying, etc.), you must notify us immediately, as this may affect your eligibility to obtain a visa.

If you are successful in obtaining an H visa, you can travel to the U.S. anytime during the validity of the visa, provided that the position is still available. By presenting H visa to the U.S. authority at the time of your visit to the US, you are making an application for admission to come to the U.S. to work or be trained pursuant to the terms and conditions of your visa. If the petitioning employer has already withdrawn their job offer before you come to the US, even with your valid H visa, you cannot come to the U.S. Knowingly seeking to enter the U.S. with any visa to perform acts beyond the purpose or scope of the approved petition will constitute misrepresentation and this will subject you to expedited removal hence seriously affecting your future admission to the U.S.

Once you have arrived in the U.S. with H visa, your legal stay in the U.S. will be governed by the I-94 that you will be receiving at the time of your inspection. I-94, which will be stamped by the Immigration Customs, will have information about the type of visa status of your admission as well as the duration of your legal stay in the U.S. Make sure your I-94 is valid at all time. If your I-94 expires, you will be out of status and therefore be subject to removal. Your legal right to remain and/or work in the U.S. depends on the validity of your I-94.

Whenever you decide to depart from the U.S., you must check yourself out at one of the DHS Kiosks that the DHS has set up throughout airports in the U.S. Failure to check yourself out may adversely affect your eligibility to return to the U.S.

When you are returning to the U.S. next time, the Immigration Customs will issue you a new I-94 to reflect your most recent legal status as well as the duration of stay. In certain circumstances, DHS has known to issue I-94 with shorter period of validity than that of the visa as appeared on your passport (for example, if your passport will expire before the authorized period as shown on the petition). Under this scenario, your authorization to work for the petitioning employer and to remain in the U.S. will be limited to the period as authorized by your I-94. Consequently, you must be aware of the expiration of your I-94 at all time and ask your petitioning employer to file an extension request before your I-94 expires.

Your petitioning employer must file an extension petition with the USCIS to extend your H visa status no earlier than 6 months before the expiration of the authorized period of stay as shown on your I-94. An H-1B Worker is eligible to receive extension of H-1B status for an aggregate period of no more than six years, whereas H-2B Worker is eligible to receive extension of H-2B status for an aggregate period of no more than three years and the limit is two years for H-3 Worker. Once a worker uses up the maximum period of stay, s/he cannot obtain another H or L visa until s/he returns abroad for a 12 month period (this requirement is different for H-3 worker. H-3 worker must stay abroad for at least 6 months before becoming eligible to apply for another H visa).

H Worker must be aware of his/her own legal status at all time. The legal right to remain in the U.S. is governed by the validity of I-94. H Worker can only work for the petitioning employer pursuant to the terms and conditions of the approved petition. H Worker must bring to the petitioning employer´s attention if his/her I-94 will expire within 7 months so to give the employer sufficient time to prepare for filing an extension petition before I-94 is expired (failure to file extension petition before I-94 expires will render H Worker out of status). Once the extension petition is filed before the expiration of I-94, H Worker may continue working for an additional 240 days (provided that the extension petition was timely filed before the expiration of I-94). Such authorization shall be subject to any conditions and limitations noted on the initial authorization. However, if the district director or service center director adjudicates the application prior to the expiration of this 240 day period and denies the application for extension of stay, the employment authorization under this paragraph shall automatically terminate upon notification of the denial decision. Moreover, if H extension is not granted by the end of that 240 day period, H Worker must be removed from the payroll unless H Worker has taken appropriate steps to obtain additional employment authorization.

H Worker must leave the U.S. before the expiration of his/her I-94, unless the petitioning employer has filed an extension petition before the expiration of I-94. If H Worker's I-94 has expired and no extension petition or change of status application has been filed, then H Worker would begin to accrue unlawful presence. If H Worker accrues 180 days of unlawful presence and then departs from the U.S. thereafter, H Worker will become inadmissible for 3 years. If H-1B Worker accrues 1 year of unlawful presence and then departs from the U.S., there will be a 10 year bar.

Your immediate family members (wife and minor children) may also be eligible to come to the U.S. under H-4 visa. As H-4 visa holders, your family members can live, reside and go to school in the U.S. so long as you maintain your H status. H-4 visa status, however, does not allow your family members to work in the U.S. If you fail to comply with the terms and conditions of your H visa, you will be deemed out of status and so will your family. Keep in mind that your family's legal stay in the U.S., like yours, is controlled by the I-94 that they will receive from the DHS. Their I-94s may not necessarily have the same expiration date as your I-94. Consequently, it is absolutely important for you to monitor the validity of your family's I-94 at all time so that they will not be out of status. Do not automatically assume that your family's I-94 will have the same expiration date as yours and then you forget to extend their H-4 status.