§H-1B Attorney NYC

H-1B Attorney for New York City Employers and Workers

Quick answer

An H-1B is filed by the employer on Form I-129 with USCIS after the Department of Labor certifies a Labor Condition Application (Form ETA-9035). A material change in job duties, pay level, or worksite generally needs an amended petition before the change takes effect, and a new employer must file its own petition before the worker moves. Mandi Law Group handles these cases from its Latham, NY office — the firm's only office, minutes from the USCIS Albany Field Office and open to walk-ins Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 ET — and by phone or video anywhere in New York.

Mandi Law Group handles H-1B petitions for New York City employers and the professionals they hire: transfers when someone moves between Manhattan firms, amendments when a worksite changes, cap registrations each spring, and Requests for Evidence that question whether a role is really a specialty occupation.

New York City H-1B cases have their own texture. Prevailing wages for the New York metropolitan area are among the highest in the country, a large share of workers sit at client sites rather than at the employer's office, and the city's hospitals and universities can file cap-exempt petitions year-round. We plan around those facts rather than treating every petition as identical.

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island, and Long Island employers and workers, handled remotely from Latham.

Book Consultation (518) 698-0347

NYC worksite and wage rules
Transfers and RFEs
Everything by phone and video

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01What to know

What is different about an H-1B case in New York City

Three things come up in New York City filings more than anywhere else. The first is wages: the Labor Condition Application on Form ETA-9035 has to attest to the prevailing wage for the area of intended employment, and for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area that figure is high enough that a Level I wage on a senior-sounding job title draws a Request for Evidence almost automatically. The second is worksites: consulting, finance, and technology employers routinely place H-1B workers at client offices in Midtown or downtown, which raises the employer-employee relationship question USCIS asks in third-party placement cases and requires contracts and statements of work in the file. The third is movement: a worker who changes employers, or whose employer moves them from a Manhattan office to a site outside the metropolitan area, has to have the right filing in place before the change, not after it, under Matter of Simeio Solutions.

The city also has an unusual number of cap-exempt employers. Institutions of higher education, their affiliated or related nonprofit entities, and nonprofit research organizations can file H-1B petitions at any time of year without entering the March lottery, and a worker employed by a cap-exempt institution can sometimes hold concurrent cap-subject employment. For F-1 graduates of New York City universities on OPT or STEM OPT, the cap-gap rule extends status and work authorization through September 30 when a timely cap-subject petition is filed for an October 1 start.

Nothing about an H-1B case requires visiting our Latham office. Form I-129 is adjudicated by a USCIS service center on the written record and the LCA is certified online, so New York City clients handle consultations, document review, and signatures by phone, video, and secure upload. The one in-person step in an H-1B case is a consular visa stamp abroad, and we prepare clients for that interview before they travel.

02Services

What we handle: an H-1B petition

H-1B transfers between New York City employers, timed so AC21 portability begins the day the new petition is receipted
Amended petitions for worksite changes, with a check of whether the new address is inside or outside the LCA's metropolitan area
LCA wage-level review for New York metropolitan prevailing wages before Form I-129 is filed, so the level matches the duties
Third-party placement evidence for workers at client sites: contracts, statements of work, and supervision records that establish the employer-employee relationship
Cap registration in March and cap-exempt petitions for hospitals, universities, and nonprofit research organizations year-round
RFE responses on specialty occupation, degree match, wage level, and maintenance of status, filed inside the deadline printed on the notice

03Why this firm

Why clients hire us for an H-1B petition

Documents reviewed before anything is filed: We read the file first — I-129 and ETA-9035 (LCA), and the evidence behind them — and flag what is missing, inconsistent, or likely to draw a question while there is still time to fix it. A gap caught before filing costs far less to close than the same gap raised in a Request for Evidence months later.
Specialty occupation proof built into the filing: An H-1B rests on two showings: that the position is a specialty occupation under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), and that the worker holds the required degree or its equivalent. For transfers between NYC employers, worksite amendments, cap filings, and RFE responses, that means deciding what to file, in what order, and what the record has to show before anything is submitted.
Deadlines tracked in writing: Amendments are generally required before a material change in role or worksite takes effect, not after. Every date in the matter is calendared, and you hear about what is due before it is due rather than after.
RFE responses that answer what was asked: H-1B requests for evidence tend to cluster: specialty occupation, degree match, employer-employee relationship in third-party placements, LCA wage level, and maintenance of status. We answer the issue raised rather than resending the original petition.
Fees quoted up front, payment plans available: What we charge for an H-1B petition depends on whether the matter is a cap registration, a transfer, an amendment, or an RFE response, and whether premium processing is used. You get the number at the consultation, in writing, with government filing fees listed separately so you can see what is a legal fee and what goes to the agency. Payment plans are available.
You talk to the attorney, in your language: The firm's attorneys work in English, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, and Swahili, and arrange certified interpreters for other languages. Consultations are by phone, by video, or in person at 22 Century Hill Dr #101 in Latham — the firm's only office, which welcomes walk-ins Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 18:00 ET, and Saturdays by appointment. Consultations are confidential and paid, with payment plans available, and the fee is quoted in writing before any work starts. Questions between filings go to the attorney handling the matter.

04Questions clients ask

H-1B Attorney for New York City Employers and Workers FAQs

How much does an H-1B transfer or amendment cost in New York City?

Legal fees depend on whether the matter is a straightforward transfer, an amendment with a new LCA, a cap-subject petition, or a Request for Evidence response, and on whether premium processing is used. Government filing fees are set by USCIS and vary with the size of the employer. Both numbers are quoted in writing at the consultation so the company can see what is a legal fee and what goes to the agency. Payment plans are available for workers who are paying their own legal fee where the regulations allow it.

My employer is moving me from our Manhattan office to Jersey City. Do we need a new H-1B?

Manhattan and Jersey City are in the same metropolitan statistical area, so a move like that generally does not require an amended petition — but the employer does have to post a new LCA notice at the new worksite before you start there, and the wage obligation continues. A move outside the area, such as to Albany, Philadelphia, or Boston, is a material change that requires a new LCA and an amended I-129 filed before the move. Have the specific addresses checked; the line is drawn by the LCA's area of intended employment, not by state borders.

I work at a client site in Midtown, not at my employer's office. Is that a problem?

It is the most common reason New York City H-1B petitions receive a Request for Evidence, but it is answerable. USCIS asks whether the petitioning employer actually controls the work — hiring, paying, supervising, and being able to end the assignment — when the worker sits at a third party's location. The file has to show that through the contract between the employer and the client, the statement of work for your role, and evidence of who supervises you day to day. We assemble that record before filing rather than waiting to be asked for it.

Can my New York hospital or university file for me without the lottery?

Often yes. Institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with them, and nonprofit or governmental research organizations are exempt from the annual cap and can file at any time of year. Many New York City teaching hospitals qualify through their affiliation with a medical school, though the affiliation has to be documented in the petition. A worker employed by a cap-exempt institution may also be able to take concurrent employment with a cap-subject employer while the exempt job continues.

I graduated from a New York City university and my OPT is ending. What does cap-gap do for me?

If a cap-subject H-1B petition requesting a change of status is filed on your behalf before your OPT expires, and it is selected in the lottery, your F-1 status and work authorization are automatically extended through September 30 while the petition is pending or once it is approved for an October 1 start. The extension ends if the petition is rejected, denied, or withdrawn, so the filing has to be timely and the case has to be sound. STEM OPT holders get the same benefit.

Can I change employers or travel while an H-1B is pending?

AC21 portability lets a worker in valid H-1B status begin work for a new employer once that employer's non-frivolous petition is filed, rather than waiting for approval. Travel is riskier: leaving the country while a change of status is pending can cause that request to be treated as abandoned and convert the case into one that has to be finished at a consulate. After H-1B employment ends there is a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days, running from the last day of work, in which a new petition or a change of status can be filed.

Will my case work the same way as the situations described here?

Not necessarily. This is general information, not legal advice. H-1B outcomes turn on your specific dates, documents, job duties, and worksite, and the rules change. Confirm how they apply to you with a licensed attorney before you file anything or let a deadline pass.

05Related pages

Official H1B Resources

Helpful government resources for H1B filings, premium processing, and case tracking:

What to Expect From a Confidential Consultation

Reaching out doesn't commit you to anything. Here is exactly what happens when you contact Mandi Law Group.

Step 1: Call or send the form
Reach out by phone or through our contact form. Your first conversation is confidential, with no obligation to hire us.
Step 2: Case review with an attorney
Bring your documents and any notices you've received. We review your situation and explain your options in plain language.
Step 3: Clear fee quote in writing
You'll get a written fee quote before any work begins. Many matters are billed as a flat fee, and payment plans are available.
Step 4: We start work right away
Once you decide to move forward and sign a retainer agreement, we begin working on your case immediately.

§Talk to us

Have an H-1B transfer, amendment, or RFE in New York City?

Call (518) 698-0347 or request a consultation. We will check the dates on your I-94 and approval notices, tell you what has to be filed and by when, and quote the fee before any work starts.