Weigh student options carefully

Another issue companies need to address involves hiring students planning to be out of university by the October 1 start day for the H-1B visa. While many companies look to hire a foreign national still studying at a US school, the April 1 filing deadline makes it impossible for the applicant to meet some of the degree requirements to gain the visa.

For instance, a student completing a bachelor's degree in May could have enough work experience -- through internships or part-time jobs -- to fulfill the degree and skills requirement on the H-1B application before actually getting their degree. Gaps between F-1 International Student status and an H-1B visa could cause some companies to balk at hiring students fresh from college.

"After you graduate as an F-1 international student, most kids get a year of practical training, but what happens if that year ends before the H-1B kicks in?" Roberts says. The issue raises many questions, such as "Does the employer send the future worker abroad? Do they put them on unpaid leave? Or do they even want to sponsor someone in that situation?" he explains.

Consider alternate work visas

Companies seeking to employ candidates based on the 65,000 H-1B visas have other options.

For one, those candidates with a US master's degree should apply for one visa among a separate pool of 20,000 allotted for the higher degree holders. And if H-1B is not an option altogether, the US offers several other visas for foreign workers.

For instance, US Free Trade Agreements with Chile and Singapore contain provisions for temporary work visas under the H-1B1 category, according to Bo Cooper, a specialist in business immigration law in Paul Hastings' national immigration practice. There are about 5,400 slots available to applicants from Singapore and 1,400 for those from Chile.

Also the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a special TN nonimmigrant visa category, which is an option for Canadian and Mexican citizens to work in the United States. And the L-1 Intracompany Transfer Work Visa applies to Individuals who are employed outside the United States as "executives, managers or in a position which requires specialized knowledge," according to a US immigration support Web site.

"H-1B is not the only option in many cases," Cooper says.

Applicants currently using an H-1B visa with another company are also not subject to the cap and can be hired more easily than applying for a new H-1B. Companies wishing to hire current H-1B visa holders need to have the candidate apply for a transfer while sponsoring them, but those transferred visas don't not drain the pool of new H-1B visas.

"Hiring a current H-1B visa holder involves no deadline and no visa cap and the process is a lot simpler and cheaper for the company," says Sonia Munoz, president of Immigration Legal Counsel, a law firm specializing in immigration law. "But the applicant cannot start working until the new or transferred visa is approved."