H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 – Know Eligibility, Rules, Schedule and Apply Process

The United States of America is often referred to as the land of immigrants as it is the land of opportunities. This identity has been given to the economic and political superpower that is USA now, due its modern identity of assimilation of the immigrating people. The post-World War 2 era imposed international visa rules mandating for foreign individuals to acquire a working visa to enter, work and live in any country.

The H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 programs are mandatory visa programs in the USA for certain specific categories of foreign workers migrating to work in this country. Eligible Persons can get relevant information on H-1B and H-2 visa programs included in this page. The article includes details about the associated Timeline in 2025, their respective Eligibility Criteria, New Changes, along with the Online Application Process.

H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025

The H-1B Visa program is intended for US-based employers that are hiring any foreign individual for a specialty domain. It allows such employers to fulfill their business needs of getting foreign talent with specialized skills and abilities to boost their global competitiveness. These visas are given on a temporary basis for a certain duration as non-immigrants to the foreign workers.

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The H-2 Visa program is also a temporary work visa for non-immigrants in the labor domain of agricultural and non-agricultural services. The H-2 Visa is further divided in two sub-categories, i.e. H-2A and H-2B, given to agricultural and non-agricultural foreign workers respectively. The H-2 Visa is given for fulfilling seasonal or intermittent needs to bridge the gap in available and required labor needs of the US-based employers.

H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 Overview Details

Title Name	H-1B and H-2 Visa in the US in 2025
Associated Country	The United States of America
Relevant Authority	The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Program	H-1B and H-2 Visa programs
Affected Individuals	Immigrants on aforementioned working visas
Changes	Simplification of application process and focus on regulatory compliance
Applicable from	January 17th, 2025
Official Portal	www.uscis.gov

Eligibility Requirements for H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025

The eligibility criteria for H-1B Visa are as follows –

The applicant has to establish that:

• the job profile requires a specialized skill set and capability;
• the bachelor’s degree or higher degree held by the foreign worker is required for satisfying the minimum academic qualification for specialty specified in the US for the associated job profile.

The applicant needs to furnish Form ETA-9035/9035E and Labor Condition Application which is issued by the US department of Labor along with the Form I-129.

The eligibility criteria for H-2 Visa are as follows:

The applicant needs to establish that:

• the job is offered on a seasonal or temporary basis;
• the dearth of US workers to fulfill the need due to ability, availability, or willingness;
• the hiring of these foreign laborers under the H-2A Visa program won’t affect the working conditions and wages for the US workers in the same domain.

The applicant needs to submit their temporary labor certification with the H-2A application. This certification is issued by the US Department of Labor.

H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 Apply Process

For H-1B :

• Step 1 – Submit LCA before the USDOL to be certified;
• Step 2 – Submit Form I-129 before the USCIS;
• Step 3 – Submit application for H-1B Visa before the US Department of State at the US Embassy or Consulate in the native country of the associated foreign worker.

For H-2 Visa :

• Step 1 – Submit Application for Temporary Labor Certification before the USDOL, or Guam DOL, to be certified;
• Step 2 – Submit Form I-129 before the USCIS;
• Step 3 – Submit application for H-1B Visa before the US Department of State at the US Embassy or Consulate in the native country of the associated foreign worker.

H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 New Changes

The new changes for H-1B Visa are as follows:

• New format of Form I-129 has been adopted;
• Additional period of six months to transition between student visa to work visa for student who pursued their college degree from US;
• Strict compliance mechanism for the US-based employer to prevent fraud in visa approval;
• Penalties, such as visa denial or revocation, are imposed for non-compliance of the regulatory guidelines that are established by the USCIS.

The new changes for H-2 Visa are as follows:

• No fees imposed on foreign worker under the H-2 Visa for change of employer and pursuing permanent residency;
• New format of Form I-129 has been adopted;
• Eliminated the list of nations from where workers can be hired under the H-2 Visa program.

The new changes are notified on December 18^th, 2024 which will be made applicable on all submissions of H-1B and H-2 Visa applications from January 17^th, 2025 onwards.

H-1B and H-2 Visas 2025 Latest News

The H-1B Visa program is the hiring of foreign individuals with specialized skills and abilities for a specialty domain in US-based businesses. These visas are given on a temporary basis to fulfill the business needs by employing the specialty skillset to boost the global competitiveness via these foreign workers as non-immigrants.

The H-2 Visa program is a temporary work visa given to non-immigrants as the foreign laborers in the domain of agricultural and non-agricultural services. Therein, the H-2A is given to agricultural foreign laborers and H-2B is non-agricultural foreign workers. The aforesaid H-2 Visas are given in order to fulfill the seasonal or intermittent needs of the US-based employers due the gap in available and required laborers. Also The new changes in H-1B and H-2 visa programs are applicable from January 17^th, 2025.

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