H-1B Status

Employment:

UAF is your only authorized employer unless a second employer has filed a petition for concurrent employment.  This includes private consulting work, unrelated to your position at UAF.

The H-1B authorization is position specific.  This means there can be no significant change in the position, to include duties, location and/or pay until an amended petition is filed and received by USCIS.

The H-1B category has no officially authorized grace period following the end of the employment.  People holding H-1B status may begin employment with a new employer after that employer has confirmation that the USCIS service center has received their petition.

Changes of Address:

Changes of address must be submitted directly to USCIS using form AR-11.  This form may be filed electronically through the USCIS website.

U.S. Tax:

If you are in the U.S. in H-1B status for 183 days within your first calendar year, you are considered a resident for U.S. tax purposes.  University policy, in accordance with IRS regulations, is to treat all individuals beginning employment in H-1B status as residents for U.S. tax purposes with limited exceptions.  Additionally, you are subject to U.S. FICA (social security and Medicare) taxes.

Travel Outside the U.S.:

Before traveling outside the U.S., please contact our office.  We will provide the employer portion of the I-797A in the event that you need to apply for the H-1B visa and/or if it is requested at your U.S. port of entry on your return.  You should also take your copy of the H-1B petition that was provided to you.

Employees who are working in the United States in the H-1B status should be prepared for the potential of additional scrutiny when entering the United States after travel abroad.  Customs and Border Protection inspectors at the airports and other ports of entry will normally question arriving non-immigrants about who their employer is, and may request documentation to prove that the nonimmigrant is still employed in accordance with the petition filed on their behalf.  Recent reports of CBP engaging in more extensive questioning of those entering pursuant to an H-1B visa have caused some employees to be concerned about documentation they will need to return to the United States from a trip abroad.  

Keep a copy of your travel itinerary as well as the electronic I-94 record for future documentation purposes.  They will be needed in the event that UAF processes an H-1B extension on your behalf.  Please also forward a copy of the I-94 to us for your file.