F-1 to OPT to H-1B. The American sequence still works, if the file is clean.

Section 214(b) is the presumption of immigrant intent — every applicant for a nonimmigrant visa is presumed to be an intending immigrant unless they demonstrate strong ties to Pakistan that will pull them back. For Pakistani F-1 and B-1/B-2 applicants this is the single most common refusal reason. The visa officer is making a credibility judgement in a 90-second window. We rehearse the interview line by line, document ties (family, property, business, ongoing studies, employment), and prepare credible answers to the standard questions about study plan, financial sponsor, and post-graduation return intent.

USCIS opens the H-1B electronic registration in early March each year. The employer submits a registration for each beneficiary they want to sponsor (USD 215 per registration since FY2025). After the registration window closes, USCIS runs a random lottery to select 65,000 regular-cap registrations plus 20,000 US master's-cap registrations. Selected registrations get to file the full H-1B petition between 1 April and 30 June. Selection rate has been around 25% in recent years for regular cap, 50% for master's cap. If your file is not selected, you wait for the next March's lottery.

Yes — that's the entire point of the National Interest Waiver. It's a self-petition under EB-2 that waives the normal job offer and PERM Labor Certification requirements. You need to show three things under the Dhanasar precedent: that your proposed endeavour has substantial merit and national importance, that you are well-positioned to advance it, and that it benefits the United States to waive the job-offer requirement. Strong fits: STEM researchers with publications, healthcare specialists in shortage fields, AI/ML scientists, climate scientists, entrepreneurs with traction. Weak fits: general business or management roles, fields with adequate US labour supply.

Typical Pakistani sequence: 2–4 years of F-1 study, 1 year of OPT (3 if STEM), employer-sponsored H-1B in the second OPT year (with lottery odds). After H-1B selection: PERM Labor Certification 12–18 months, then I-140 immigrant petition 6–12 months, then wait for Visa Bulletin priority date to become current — currently 2+ years for EB-2 Pakistan. Total realistic timeline: 6–10 years from arrival in the US to LPR. NIW or EB-1A can compress this by 2–3 years by skipping PERM. We map the full sequence on the first consultation.