No, Your Dog Trainer Is NOT On an H-1B

Pareen Mhatre & Nir Save

While we welcome everyone to read this, this post is intended for those who are unfamiliar with the U.S. immigration system, its laws, and how it affects the group commonly known as “Documented Dreamers.”

President-Elect Donald Trump’s recent appointments have consequently led to heated debates, boiling down to the question: are H-1B visa holders actually taking over American jobs?

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both appointed by President-Elect Trump to head the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), joined an online social media war claiming that the United States is in need of more foreign workers, namely H1-B visas, to remain competitive. This was met with commotion from members on both sides of the political spectrum.

With the recent spotlight being on the H-1B visa, many ignore its lesser known siblings, the H-2A, H-2B and H-3 visas, and may even mistake the H-1B for its own fraternal twin, the H-1B1 visa. Regardless of where anyone stands on everyone’s favorite (or least favorite) employment-based visa, one thing is clear: we all need a crash course in immigration, so here is the first installation of Employment-Based Immigration 101.

Amidst the immigration alphabet soup, what does the "H" category visa actually mean? The “H” category is used to identify a type of legal employment-based visas that provide work authorization to temporary foreign workers based on varying degrees of skill, industry demands, and education requirements.

Before we jump into differentiating between the H visas, we must understand a key doctrine that separates the H-1B from the rest of its family - dual intent, which recognizes that a non-citizen is allowed to temporarily work in the United States, while also working towards permanent residency (colloquially referred to as a green card). To put it simply, without dual intent, a visa says “I will definitely return to my home country”. Alternatively, with dual intent, a visa says “I will return to my home country, but I also have an option to legally apply for a green card, if my employer decides to permanently keep me”. Therefore, despite being a “temporary” non-immigrant visa, the H-1B still allows for a legal pathway to U.S citizenship through dual intent. A common misconception of the H-1B visa is that it is used to employ temporary non-professional foreign workers, calling into question the validity of how “high-skilled” H-1B visa holders actually are. Now, let’s break down what all the different types of H visas are:

• H-1B - This visa program applies to individuals who are in speciality occupations, which are defined by the US Department of Labor as, “one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.” The time period allotted to this visa is three years, but can be extended to up to six years. Additionally, employers are obligated to offer H-1B visa holders similar wage and benefits as it would to American workers, and not displace American workers during this process. This visa category is dual intent, allowing an employer to file a green card application for the H-1B worker. It is only after this process is completed that the worker’s H-1B visa can be renewed every 3 years indefinitely until their application is approved and their green card arrives (which can take months, years, or even decades, depending on which country the worker was born in).

• H-2 - This visa category is reserved for temporary or seasonal workers. To even qualify for this visa, employers are required to establish that there are not enough American workers that are “able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work.” In other words, these employers are legally obligated to seek American workers before turning to foreign ones. These visas are not dual intent, which means these individuals do not have a direct pathway towards permanent residency.

  • H-2A is reserved for temporary or seasonal workers in the agricultural field.

  • H-2B is pretty similar to the H-2A visa, except that it is for temporary or seasonal workers in a non-agricultural field. The word “temporary” is key: this could signify a one-time occurrence, an intermittent need, a seasonal need, or a peak load need. In a recent press release, Senator Bernie Sanders claimed the H-1B visa is being awarded to positions such as “dog trainers, massage therapists, cooks, and English teachers”. The visa in question is actually H-2B, NOT the H-1B*.

*Note: This is a general statement that does not account for special cases wherein a skilled professional may be needed to perform specialized work and meets all criteria for the H-1B.

• H-3 - This is reserved for “nonimmigrant trainees and special education exchange visitors”, this visa provides two types of foreign nationals to temporarily stay in the US under certain requirements. The first of this is an individual invited to receive training in a non-medical field. The second group includes special education exchange visitors who are part of a program that provides training and work experience in the education of children with disabilities. As part of the application process, the U.S. employer demonstrates that the required training is unavailable in the trainee’s native country and that the training will benefit the trainee in a career outside of the U.S.

• H-4 - This visa program is for dependents (spouses or children) of those on certain H visas. An H-4 dependent visa holder can be added as a beneficiary on the primary H-1B visa holder’s permanent residency application, should the primary applicant get sponsored by their employer (petitioner). One of the groups Improve The Dream advocates for are H-4 child dependents, individuals who have been brought to the United States at a young age, but age out of their status at 21 due to barriers in the legal immigration system, even if they were raised and educated in the United States alongside other American children.

With H-1B visas in particular becoming a hot button topic, the goal of this piece was to help inform and educate our audience on what exactly these visas are and what they mean for our country. The employment-based immigration system is not only complex (we haven’t even scratched the surface with the L, E and O categories), but it also serves as a powerful reminder how our nation has welcomed and benefited from immigration.

Improve The Dream is a youth-led advocacy organization bringing awareness for over 200,000 children of long-term visa holders who face self-deportation, despite growing up in the United States with a documented status.

If you know someone who is a Documented Dreamer, please share the following link so they can join our advocacy community to stay updated and connect with other Documented Dreamers: ImproveTheDream.org/survey.