H-1B Visa Interview Questions

If you only rehearse a small set of answers, make it these five:

1. What is your salary?

2. Where do you work?
3. What do you do?
4. What does your company do?

Who is your employer?

These questions cover the main H-1B tests: wage, worksite, job duties, employer legitimacy, and employer-employee relationship. If you can answer all five clearly and consistently, you are ready for the majority of H-1B interviews. For a complete preparation sequence, see H-1B Interview Preparation Guide.

The exact H-1B interview questions you get depend partly on your case type.

First-time stamping

First-time applicants usually get more baseline verification. Be ready for questions like:

• Why are you going to the United States?
• What is your role?
• How does your degree relate to this position?
• Where will you work?

Your answers should show that you understand the role, the employer, and why the job qualifies as an H-1B specialty occupation.

Renewal stamping

Renewal interviews are often shorter. Officers may focus on continuity:

• Is this a renewal?
• Are you still with the same employer?
• What is your current salary?
• Where do you live and work now?

If you have a clean history and the same employer, renewal interviews can be very quick.

H-1B transfer or new employer

Transfers often get questions that feel closer to first-time stamping because the officer needs to understand the new employer and new role:

• When did you change employers?
• Why did you change employers?
• What is your new salary?
• Who do you report to now?

Keep the timeline simple, accurate, and consistent with your latest approval notice and DS-160.

Employment questions appear in roughly 70% of H-1B interviews. Officers use them to confirm that the job described in the petition is real and that you can explain it clearly.

Where do you work?

State the employer and work location clearly. If you work at a client site, mention both your employer and the worksite arrangement in a straightforward way.

What do you do? What is your role?

Use plain English. A good answer explains the business purpose of your work, not just the tools you use. For role-specific guidance, see H-1B Job Duties Questions.

What is your job title?

Your title should match the petition and LCA. If you use an internal title at work that differs from the official immigration title, answer with the petition title first and explain only if asked.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

Walk through a normal week in two or three sentences. If the role sounds too vague or too generic, the officer may question whether it truly qualifies as a specialty occupation.

How long have you been working there?

Give a clean timeline. If you recently transferred employers, explain the sequence briefly and calmly.

Salary is the single most asked H-1B interview question. It appears in roughly 35% of all interviews.

What is your salary?

Know your exact annual base salary. Officers often compare your answer against the wage listed on the LCA. If the number sounds uncertain, inconsistent, or lower than expected, follow-up questions are likely.

What is the prevailing wage for your position?

You do not need to deliver a legal lecture, but you should know the basics of your LCA: the wage level, work location, and that your offered wage meets or exceeds the required amount.

Do you receive any other compensation?

If you receive bonuses, equity, or standard benefits, mention them briefly after stating the base salary. For deeper prep, see H-1B Salary Questions.

The practical rule is simple: never estimate your salary. Memorize the exact number.

Company questions show up in about 20% of H-1B interviews, and they matter even more for consulting companies, staffing firms, startups, and remote placements.

What does your company do?

Describe the company in one or two sentences: industry, main product or service, and who it serves. Avoid vague answers like "It is an IT company."

Who is your employer?

Name the petitioning employer clearly. This is especially important if you support a client project or work at a third-party site.

Where is your company's office?

Your verbal answer should not contradict the worksite on the LCA or petition. If you work remotely or at a client location, explain the arrangement simply.

Can you show me your LCA?

You may not always be asked, but you should be ready. Officers can compare your verbal answers about salary and worksite against the LCA quickly.

For company-specific wording, see H-1B Employer Questions.

Qualification questions appear in roughly 25% of H-1B interviews. Officers want to verify that your education supports the role and that the position qualifies as a specialty occupation.

What is your highest degree?

State the degree, field, and school directly.

Where did you study?

If you studied outside the United States, be prepared to explain the institution and to provide supporting documents if requested.

How does your degree relate to your current role?

This is one of the most important H-1B logic tests. The officer wants to hear a clear link between your academic background and the work you will do.

Do you have any certifications or licenses?

If relevant, mention them briefly. They are not always required, but they can reinforce that the role is specialized.

For deeper answer patterns, see H-1B Qualification Questions.

Consulting, staffing, and client-site H-1B cases receive extra scrutiny because officers want to confirm that a real specialty role exists and that the petitioning employer controls your work.

Common questions include:

• Who assigns your work?
• Who reviews your performance?
• Is this a client-site role?
• What does the client do?
• Who pays your salary?
• How long is the project?

Your answers should make one point very clear: the petitioning employer controls your role, your reporting structure, and your employment relationship. If you have a client letter, statement of work, end-client information, or other supporting material, keep it organized and accessible.

This is one of the biggest areas where applicants get pushed into follow-up questions. Review H-1B Employer Questions before your appointment if you work in consulting or at a third-party site.

Many H-1B interviews are approved with only a few spoken questions, but you should still arrive prepared for document verification.

Bring these documents in an organized folder:

• Passport and any old passports
• DS-160 confirmation page
• Appointment confirmation and fee receipt if applicable
• H-1B approval notice (Form I-797)
• Copy of the H-1B petition and certified LCA
• Job offer or employment verification letter
• Recent pay stubs if this is a renewal or transfer case
• Resume or CV
• Degree certificates, transcripts, and credential evaluations if relevant
• Client letter, statement of work, or project letter if you work at a client site

The officer may not ask for all of these. The point is not to dump documents on the counter. The point is to have them ready instantly if a salary, worksite, employer, or qualification answer needs support. For a full pack list, see H-1B Document Checklist.

Background questions appear in roughly 15% of H-1B interviews. They are usually brief, but you still need direct and honest answers.

Have you been to the United States before?

If yes, mention the prior visa category and purpose briefly.

Is this a renewal?

If yes, explain your prior H-1B history in one or two sentences.

Have you ever been denied a US visa?

Be honest. Prior refusals are visible in the system. If something changed since the earlier refusal, explain the change simply.

Do you have any criminal history or immigration violations?

Answer truthfully and do not try to hide prior issues. For straightforward cases, these questions are routine and short.

A 221(g) refusal is not a final denial, but it does mean the officer needs more review or more documents before issuing the visa.

Common triggers include:

• Inconsistent answers about salary, title, employer, or worksite
• Vague explanations of job duties
• A role that does not clearly sound like a specialty occupation
• Consulting or client-site arrangements that are not explained well
• Missing supporting documents for the employer, project, or qualifications
• Security or background review requirements

The best prevention strategy is boring consistency. Your verbal answers should match the petition package. If your case is more complex than average, assume you may be asked one or two more detailed questions and prepare your supporting documents accordingly.

Most H-1B interview mistakes are not dramatic. They are small inconsistencies that make the officer curious.

The biggest avoidable mistakes are:

• Giving an approximate salary instead of the exact figure
• Using a different employer or job title than the petition
• Over-explaining with technical jargon
• Sounding unsure about what the company actually does
• Forgetting the worksite listed on the LCA
• Describing a job that does not clearly require a specialized degree
• Saying the client controls your work when the petitioning employer should be the one supervising you

Short, confident, factual answers are usually better than long answers. If the officer wants more detail, they will ask for it. For more warning signs, see H-1B Interview Red Flag Questions.

Most H-1B applicants overestimate how complicated the interview will be. In practice, it is often a short sequence of verification questions.

Officer:

What do you do?

You: "I work as a software engineer at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. I build backend services for Azure."

Officer:

What is your salary?

You: "My annual base salary is $145,000."

Officer:

Is this a renewal?

You: "Yes. I have been with Microsoft for three years and this is renewal stamping."

Officer:

Who is your employer?

You: "Microsoft Corporation."

That is the entire interview. Many H-1B interviews are over in 2 to 5 minutes. First-time stamping, transfer cases, and consulting cases may run a little longer, but even then the interview usually stays tightly focused on employment facts.

When a consular officer interviews an H-1B applicant, they are checking three main things.

1. Is this a legitimate specialty occupation?

The role should normally require at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field related to the work. If you describe your job in a way that sounds generic, the officer may question whether it is really an H-1B role.

2. Does a valid employer-employee relationship exist?

This matters most for consulting and client-site cases. Officers want to know who controls the work, who supervises you, and who pays you.

3. Is the employer paying the required wage?

Your salary should align with the petition and LCA. That is why salary is asked so often.

Beyond those three tests, officers also screen for routine admissibility issues. But for most H-1B applicants, the interview is primarily an employment verification exercise.

H-1B interviews are short, but that is exactly why weak answers stand out. If you hesitate on salary, employer, job duties, or work location, the officer has very little else to go on.

Our interview simulator is trained on 1,081 real H-1B officer-asked questions covering the exact themes in this guide: salary, employer, worksite, qualifications, consulting risk, and follow-up questions.

Practice until your core answers are automatic.

Start Your H-1B Interview Simulation ->

For broader prep strategy, also see US Visa Interview Preparation.