Do teachers get sponsored on H1visas?

My friend is currently teaching in the US in the state of GA on a J1 visa. She is nearing the completion of her three year term and is scheduled to leave later this year. She wants to continue to work in the US and has been asking schools if she can be sponsored on an H1-B visa.

Is it usual for school/county boards to hire teachers by sponsoring them for an H1 visa as is quite common in the IT industry? Is it only the private schools that do this? What can she do to get an H1 for herself?

Thanks.

It is becoming more common:

America calling: Techies out, Teachers in

The article does not answer my specific questions. It does not say anything about the credentials of the person who went recruiting. Was it a county school board official?

My friend is already in the US. What should she do or who should see that she can avail of an H1 sponsorship?

An H-1B can be used for any job that requires a bachelor’s degree in a specific field, as long as the beneficiary has a bachelor’s degree in that field (or an equivalent combination of education and experience). It’s a common misconception that it’s only for high-tech workers.

However, your friend may be out of luck on 2 fronts: a) the annual quota of H-1Bs for fiscal 2005 was used up on the first day of the fiscal year, Oct. 1, 2004; and b) depending on her J-1 program, her nationality, and her skillset, among other things, she may have to return to her home country for 2 years before she can return to the U.S. in H-1B status. There are an additional 20,000 H-1Bs that were supposed to become available on March 8, but Congress still hasn’t determined filing procedures, and legislatively speaking these extra 20,000 were supposed to be reserved for master’s and Ph.D. graduates of U.S. universities.

If she wants to pursue the issue, she should talk to whoever arranged for her J-1 on the school administration side. If they don’t know what to do, they should talk to an immigration lawyer.

Eva Luna, Immigration Paralegal (home sick today, or I’d post more info)

Many thanks for the response Eva.

I am not sure I understand.

I was under the impression that the quota of H1B for 2005 would be made available sometime in April 2005, the current month.

But from what you say, it seems that the quota for 2005 was released in October 2004 and only an additional number of 20,000 is being made available now for the current year. Is my understanding correct?

Does it also mean that in general, the quota for any particular year is always released in October of the previous year?

Thanks again.

The Federal fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 - Sept. 30, so fiscal 2005 started Oct. 1, 2004, and fiscal 2006 will start Oct. 1, 2005. The entire H-1B quota for fiscal 2005 was exhausted by the end of Oct. 1, 2004. However, H-1B petitions effective Oct. 1, 2005 can be filed 6 months before their initial effective date, i.e. now. This leaves aside the additional 20,000 H-1Bs for fiscla 2005, for which eligibilty and usage procedures are still up in the air.

I hope that makes sense, or at least as much as anything related to U.S. immigration ever makes sense.