Non-profit Qualifying Institutions

For the employer to qualify as a non-profit organization and thus be exempt from the H-1B Cap and some of the filing fees (Training Fee) the employer must fit into one of the following categories:

• Higher Educational Institutions and their related or affiliated non-profit entities
• Non-profit research organizations
• Government Research Organizations

If a petitioner who is not considered a qualifying institution can still be exempt from the H-1B cap if they can show that a connection exists between the work performed by the H-1B beneficiary and the qualifying institution. The work of the affiliated entity must further the work of the qualifying institution.

According to the USCIS, in order to determine if the related or affiliated nonprofit entity is exempt, the entity must be "connected or associated with an institution of higher education, through shared ownership or control by the same board or federation operated by an institution of higher education, or attached to an institution of higher education as a member, branch, cooperative, or subsidiary."

A nonprofit research organization as defined by USCIS is "an organization that is primarily engaged in basic research and/or applied research." A governmental research organization is "a United States Government entity whose primary mission is the performance or promotion of basic research and/or applied research." Related or affiliated organizations must further the work of the qualifying entity.