H-1B Work Visa Interview Questions and Answers
The H-1B interview is different from every other category on this site, and applicants who prepare with generic visa advice get it wrong. H-1B is a dual intent visa: you are permitted to hold an immigrant intention, so the officer will not ask why you will return home, and volunteering ties is unnecessary. What they are verifying instead is that the petition is real — that the employer exists, the role genuinely requires your degree, the salary matches the LCA, and you are the person described in the petition. Vagueness about your own job is the main reason these interviews go wrong.
What the officer is assessing
- Your employer
- Whether the petitioning company is real and you know who you work for.
- The role
- Whether the position genuinely qualifies as a specialty occupation.
- Your qualifications
- Whether your degree and experience match what the petition claims.
- Salary and worksite
- Whether the pay and location match the LCA and petition.
- Client placement
- For consultancies: who controls your work, the area of heaviest scrutiny.
The 13 questions
Tap any question to see what it is really testing, how to approach your answer, and the mistake that most often turns it into a refusal.
What the officer is really testing
Basic verification against the petition, and a check that you know the entity sponsoring you rather than only an agency intermediary.
How to answer
Name the petitioning company exactly as it appears on the I-797, what it does and roughly how large it is.
Common mistake
Naming the client company instead of the petitioner. If you are placed through a consultancy, be clear about which is which.
What the officer is really testing
Confirms the employer is a genuine operating business and that you understand it.
How to answer
One or two sentences on the business, its sector and its customers.
Common mistake
A generic answer such as "IT services" with nothing behind it when the officer probes.
What the officer is really testing
The heart of the specialty occupation test. The duties must plausibly require at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field.
How to answer
Describe the actual technical work — systems, methods, tools, what you produce — in a way that shows the degree is a genuine requirement.
Common mistake
Describing duties so general they could be done without a degree. That undermines the entire petition.
Likely follow-ups
- What technologies will you use?
- Who do you report to?
- How is this different from a role that needs no degree?
What the officer is really testing
H-1B requires a direct relationship between your specific field of study and the position.
How to answer
Name the degree, the field and the institution, then draw the explicit line from your coursework to the duties.
Common mistake
Leaving the connection implicit when your degree field is not obviously adjacent to the role. State it.
What the officer is really testing
Establishes that you can actually perform the role, and matters especially where experience substitutes for part of the degree requirement.
How to answer
Give your recent roles, duration and the technical work involved, focusing on what maps to the new position.
Common mistake
A career history that does not match the résumé filed with the petition.
What the officer is really testing
Must be consistent with the Labor Condition Application and meet the prevailing wage for that role and location.
How to answer
State the annual figure from the petition. Know it precisely.
Common mistake
Quoting a different figure from the one on the LCA, or not knowing your own salary.
What the officer is really testing
The worksite must match the LCA, because prevailing wage is location-specific. Undisclosed worksites are a common petition defect.
How to answer
Give the city and state on the petition. If you will work at a client site, name it and confirm it is on the LCA.
Common mistake
Naming a location that does not appear anywhere in the filing.
What the officer is really testing
The employer-employee relationship test. For third-party placements, the petitioner must retain the right to control your work — the most heavily scrutinised area in H-1B adjudication.
How to answer
Explain the chain clearly: your employer assigns and evaluates you, pays you and can reassign you, even while you deliver work at a client. Mention the client letter or statement of work if one was filed.
Common mistake
Describing the client as your boss. That suggests the client is the real employer and the petitioner is not.
What the officer is really testing
A genuine hiring process supports a genuine position.
How to answer
Describe the real route — recruiter, referral, application — and the interview process you went through.
Common mistake
Being unable to describe interviewing for your own job.
What the officer is really testing
Checks you understand your own petition’s basis, particularly relevant for university and non-profit employment.
How to answer
Say which applies. If cap-exempt, name the qualifying institution.
Common mistake
Not knowing, which suggests limited engagement with your own filing.
What the officer is really testing
Many H-1B applicants are changing status from F-1 OPT. Officers verify prior compliance, including any unauthorised employment.
How to answer
Give the status, dates and how you complied — including OPT employment tied to your field of study.
Common mistake
Understating a status violation or a period of unemployment on OPT. It is on the record.
What the officer is really testing
H-4 dependants are processed alongside. Routine verification, not a ties test.
How to answer
Say who is applying with you and their relationship. No need to justify anyone remaining at home.
Common mistake
Volunteering an explanation of why you will return home. On a dual intent visa that is unnecessary and can create confusion.
What the officer is really testing
A legitimate question on a dual intent visa. Answering yes is not a problem — this category expressly permits immigrant intent.
How to answer
Answer honestly. If sponsorship has been discussed or a PERM is under way, say so plainly.
Common mistake
Denying it out of habit from other visa categories. Denying something the record contradicts creates a credibility problem where none existed.
Reading these is not the same as answering them
At the window you get one attempt, out loud, with an officer interrupting. Practise a full H-1B interview with an AI visa officer that asks these questions in a real voice conversation, follows up on weak answers, and gives you a verdict with a readiness score. Your first interview is free.
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