Navigating the H1B1 visa process (updated 2024)

Ashley Lim
18 min readAug 16, 2019
Photo by Hayes Potter on Unsplash

For Singaporeans who want to work in the US, we have the benefit of applying for a special H1B1 visa. This H1B1 visa is a subset of the H-1B visa commonly used by the rest of the world, but the application process is fundamentally different.

The good news is it’s wayyyy easier and faster to obtain the H1B1 visa.

Since I have gone through the process three times, I decided to document the entire process in detail to share with fellow applicants. The US administrative process to apply for the H1B1 visa is complicated and there is a scarcity of information about the process online. It might surprise you to know that even professional immigration firms are not well versed in H1B1 and have been known to make serious mistakes, so I hope this guide will save you a lot of anguish on this crucial journey.

What’s the H1B1 visa for Singaporeans?

The H1B1 visa is considered a temporary non-immigrant visa. It allows qualified professionals to temporarily live and work in the United States. It is important to note the non-immigrant intent of this visa type when considering which visa type to go for, and when preparing for the embassy interview. Proving “non-immigrant intent” by demonstrating family ties and property ownership in Singapore may play a part in the approval…

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Ashley Lim
Ashley Lim

Written by Ashley Lim

Singaporean who used to work in the Bay Area intro.co/AshleyLim

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