I am expecting an offer from a non-profit firm for work. The agreement was that I will pay for the legal fees and whatever other fees neccesary myself to get H1b and that the organization will provide neccesary paperwork.

I've been told as there is no quota for h1b for non-profit the process is fairly simple.

Can anyone who did their H1b themselves (whether nonprofit or not) tell me what the process was like... associated costs... used lawyer or not etc.

More details the better.

Thanks!

Expediate H1b processing is 2000$ and 400$ i think (that will have you your H1b approved in 2 weeks or else your service is free)

Regular processing 400$ and takes couple of months,


Well, for quota you might wanna talk to Lawyer, they will be able to give you the exact numbers.

Or you can google around on DOL.gov..


Good Luck.

A friend of mine works for a higher instituion which like Non-Profit Organization is not affected by the H1 quota. According to him, the rejection chances are also very low.
I think he paid for his H1b fees. It was $1000 for premium process (less than 2 weeks). I am not sure about the lawyer part but in his work place there was someone who did the paper work for him.

So in your case, if your institution has sponsored other foreign nationals before, they will know who and how to do the paper work.

But yes, don't worry about the quota part.

about 1500 total....2 weeks top

Is the premium ($1000) a mandatory fee or is it only to expedite the process? Does anyone know the process for a Green Card through a non-profit organization? Does non-profit organization fall under any other category for GC?
I've also heard through friends that it takes about two weeks to get H1B for non-profit org but wasn't sure if it was only after paying the $1000 fee.
Has anyone gone through this process?

Thanks
-LoGiN

look at the fee government fee structure and the attorney fee at Rajiv Khanna's website.
- http://www.immigration.com/ourservice/nonimmig.html#bnon

Yes, it took about 2 weeks for myself processing H1B through Non Profit Organization. And the price was $1430 in total. You do not need a lawyer, you can fill the simple forms yourself. Just read the application filling guideline properly.
I am not sure about Green Card through Non Profit. If anyone has, I really would like to know about its process. Thanks.

So Naake, is $1430 exclusive of the $1000 for premium fee? Or is the $1000 premium fee mandatory?
Thanks for sharing your experience.

Login,
I am not sure what premium fee you are talking about, but $1430 comprises of $180 application fee (it has recently increased to $190), $500 Fraud Prevention Fee, and $750 if your company has less than 25 employees, or $1500 if your company has more than 25 employees, in which case, the total amount that you pay will increase by $750.
I hope it makes sense.

Naake,
Thanks for the info. Premium fee, I beleive is to expedite the process but according to you, it took only two weeks to get your H1B approved so I don't see why one would pay the extra $1000?
Keti_NY, I think the employer is legally responsible for all the legal cost. Did you already get a lawyer?

thanks to everyone who responded. it's been helpful.

No haven't hired lawyer yet. Sounds like it can be done without a lawyer, so I may attempt that first. Though there still is not clarity about the total cost. Does the two wk expedited cost 1000$?

Naake was your application processed in 2 wks (seem you didn't pay for expedited.) ?

Thanks!

actually my question is answered. here are complete details:

For H-1, If you are a company with 25 or less employees, the fees are as follows: $190 (filing fees for form I-129) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security" (personal or corporate check only), $750 (filing fees for Form I-129W) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security" (corporate check only) AND $500 Fraud prevention and detection fee (personal or corporate check) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security.
For H-1, If you are a company with 26 or more employees, the fees are as follows: $190 (filing fees for form I-129) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security" (personal or corporate check only), $1,500 (filing fees for Form I-129W) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security" (corporate check only) AND $500 Fraud prevention and detection fee (personal or corporate check) made payable to the "Department of Homeland Security.
The $500 Fraud prevention and detection fee will be applicable to:
a) All initial H-1 petitions;
b) Transfers from one employer to another; and
c) Change of Status to H-1
This $500 fraud prevention and detection fee can be a personal/corporate check made payable to “Department of Homeland Security”.
If petition is by way of premium processing, then there is an additional fee of $1,000 (premium processing fee). This can be paid by personal or corporate checks.This $1,000 should be payable to "Department of Homeland Security".

The above information is copied from Rajib Khanna's website, isn't it? Let's give him credit for this.