Next Steps

OIS will notify you once we receive the receipt notice and approval notice from USCIS.

If you are currently in H-1B status with another employer, you can begin working at UT Health San Antonio once you have the receipt notice, and continue working for 240 days until your H-1B is approved. Make sure to schedule a check-in with OIS soon after arrival to San Antonio.

If you are in another non-immigrant visa category and apply for a change of status to H-1B, you cannot begin working until you have the approval notice and as of the start date on the notice. Schedule a check-in with OIS once you receive your approval notice and arrive in San Antonio. A change of status or extension of stay in the United States does not result in a new entry visa stamp in your passport. The next time you travel outside the United States, you will need to plan to apply for a new visa in order to return.

Applying for a Visa

If you are outside the U.S. at the time the H-1B is approved, and you do not have a valid H-1B visa stamp in your passport, you must apply for an H-1B visa, unless you are a Canadian citizen.

We will use a courier service to send you the original approval notice and a copy of the petition as filed. You will need the original notice and copy of the petition when applying for your H-1B visa and when traveling abroad. You will be permitted to enter the U.S. up to 10 days prior to the start date on your approval notice. Please note that your H-1B status will actually begin when you enter the U.S. in H-1B status after obtaining an H-1B visa abroad.

A consular officer must interview every first-time H-1B visa applicant before a non-immigrant visa can be issued. Students and scholars working in certain fields such a biology, chemistry, and fields in which nuclear materials are used may require a separate security check related to this technology. Be sure to check the U.S. Department of State website for details on current application procedures. Also, check to see if there are specific instructions for the U.S. Consulate where you will be applying for a visa.

In order to apply for an H-1B visa, you will need to present the following items to a U.S. Consulate outside the United States:

  • A passport valid at least six months into the future, but preferably beyond the end date of your H-1B approval notice;
  • Original Form I-797 Approval Notice;
  • Complete copy of H-1B petition as filed with USCIS;
  • Form DS-160 Electronic Non-immigrant Visa Application (filed on-line). Access the most current forms on the Department of State website.
    Note: The U.S. Department of State requires that nonimmigrant visa applicants provide their username for all social media accounts that have been used within the last five years at the time of application for the visa.;
  • If there is a possibility that you might need a technology clearance, an updated curriculum vitae including all your publications and a detailed description, in layperson’s terms, of your job duties signed by your supervisor; and
  • Evidence of payment of the machine-readable visa (MRV) fee (see consulate’s website for instructions about paying this fee) and any reciprocal visa fees.

H-4 Visa for Dependents

In order to apply for an H-4 visa for any dependents, in addition to the documents used for your visa application, you will need to provide proof of the dependents’ relationship to you, such as marriage certificate for a spouse and/or birth certificate for a child.  The consulate’s website will explain how to schedule visa appointments for your dependents.

Arrival to the U.S.

Once you have entered the U.S. in H-1B status, please make an appointment with your OIS advisor. Prior to your check-in, upload to your record housed in the Scholar International Portal copies of your I-94 record, H-1B visa stamp, if applicable, U.S. entry stamp in your passport, and a completed International Visitor Data Form. This information allows us to verify that that your arrival was correctly recorded. Please continue to provide us with your updated I-94 records after returning from any trips outside the United States. The expiration date and status listed on your I-94 governs your authorized stay in the U.S. It is possible for a Form I-94 to expire before or after the visa in your passport expires or before the validity date on your H-1B petition. Please contact our office if there appears to be an error on your I-94.

Since you will be a UT Health San Antonio employee, you will need to apply for a Social Security Number (SSN) if you do not already have one.  This number is used for tax and retirement purposes by all persons who work in the United States.

The Social Security Administration recommends that you wait for at least 10 days after your arrival in the U.S. or change of status to H-1B before applying for a social security number.  They have to verify your immigration information, and this is the approximate amount of time needed for immigration data to migrate to database to which the Social Security Administration has access.