CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER: School District in Ukiah, CA
BENEFICIARY: Filipino Middle School Mathematics Teacher
ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education
Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in February 2025 to seek legal assistance for their prospective foreign employee. The beneficiary is a Middle School Mathematics Teacher from the Philippines who has worked in the U.S. under J-1 status. Though he was subject to the INA 212(e) two-year foreign residency requirement, he had already obtained a J-1 waiver from USCIS with our firm’s legal assistance.
The proffered position for the beneficiary is a Middle School Mathematics Teacher. We demonstrated that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.
The numerical cap for H-1B visas for fiscal year 2026 had already been reached. However, our client qualifies for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B).
Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on May 6, 2025, via premium processing. Our client’s H-1B application was eventually approved on May 21, 2025, without any RFE. He can now work for his employer for three years on H-1B status.