How do I use Timesheets to be compliant for H1B Visa employees?

What is a H1B visa?

An H1B visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa category for temporary skilled workers.  To obtain this visa, an employer must offer a job and apply for the H1B visa petition with the US Immigration Department.  If approved, this petition is a work permit which allows you to acquire a visa stamp and work for 3 years for the approved employer.  H1B visas can be renewed a single time, for an additional period of 3 years.  This visa is only issues for specialty occupations, requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge.  In addition to the field requirement, any petitioner must also have a bachelors degree or equivalent education.

What does it take to obtain a H1B visa?

When an employee applies for a H1B application, they may be required to show proof that a valid employee-employer relationship exists.  The governing body of this, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has a specific set of requirements that define what constitutes an employee-employer relationship, and what relationships do not fall under this category.  Although there are many more finite requirements, especially when dealing with IT contracting professionals, the largest requirement involves an employer showing proof that they exercise a level of control over the employee’s day-to-day work.  Beyond proving this requirement, there are also a number of fees the employer must pay, which is adjusted based on the number of employees a firm has.

How to use Timesheets to prove a valid H1B employer-employee relationship:

Employers can easily prove their control over the day-to-day tasks by using a managed Timesheet system in which employees must submit their completed tasks for approval.  By proving a channel of communication of work being done on a daily basis, the employer is demonstrating they are involved in the daily work for that employee.  In addition to this, the Timesheets App allows for employers to either approve or reject the work, which further demonstrates their actual control over the work being completed by the employee.  Not only will the integration of Timesheets into business processes provide proof for H1B visa issuance; you also receive a number of other benefits as well.  The detailed task management system which the Apptivo Timesheets App is based on will not only keep your employees on task, but also provide managers with valuable reporting tools to assure their teams are running at maximum efficiency.

In order to be compliant for H1B visas, your timesheet application must be able to produce detailed reports of the total amount of hours spent, and which tasks these hours were spent on. In addition to understanding the hours spent, you also must document whom the work was completed by, as well as the manager or customer who approved the hours spent on the time sheet.

Free Time Tracking software at your fingertips.

Sounds great, how do I get started?

Take a look at my other blog, it shows you how to set up your company, and start managing Timesheets for H1B compliance.

Find out more information about H1B visas