How to Increase Your Chances of Getting an H1B Visa in the United States

Many people wish to one day live in the United States, but doing so can be difficult because of the severe shortage of H1-B visas. This is because more people are trying to get a visa than there are visas available. For example, multiple employer filings for the same employee can increase the odds of that employee being chosen in the lottery.

Multiple H1-B lottery applications for the same employee are encouraged by Immigration.com Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna, PC attorney Rajiv S. Khanna. The odds of winning the lottery are proportional to the number of tickets purchased. But if you buy ten tickets, your odds will be one hundred times better.

When is it acceptable for multiple employers to submit an H1-B application for the same worker?

If the two filing employers are unrelated, they can file for the same employee, as explained by Khanna. There may be suspicion of system gaming if the filing employers are family members.

Employers must swear (under penalty of perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison) that they are not trying to cheat the system.

However, if the positions are legitimate, a larger company may apply to the same individual on behalf of multiple departments.

Let's say I'm the Vice President of Human Resources at Google. I need to fill two senior accounting positions—one in our consulting division and another in our products division. Therefore, I may be able to file multiple H1-Bs for the same individual to the same organization because these two jobs are legitimate and these two units are distinct.

Remember that increasing your chances of being selected in the H1-B lottery by submitting multiple applications is no substitute for understanding the legal considerations and developing a sound strategy.