What are the exceptions to having a post-secondary degree or its equivalent to qualify for an H-1B1 (for Chileans)?

The short answer is that there is no exception that lets someone qualify with no post-secondary credential at all. What the Free Trade Agreement does is narrower and more useful than that: for four named professions, it accepts a different credential in place of the ordinary four-year degree.

The baseline the exception departs from. Article 14.9 of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement defines a professional as a national engaged in a specialty occupation requiring the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge, together with a post-secondary degree in the specialty requiring four or more years of study, or the equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the occupation. Section D of Annex 14.3 then provides that, notwithstanding those educational requirements, temporary entry is to be granted to a person practicing one of the professions set out in Appendix 14.3(D)(2), provided the person holds the credentials the Appendix specifies and otherwise meets the requirements of Section D. The Appendix substitutes a credential. It does not dispense with one.

The four professions. Appendix 14.3(D)(2) lists agricultural managers, physical therapists, disaster relief claims adjusters, and management consultants. Chile’s list is the longer of the two Free Trade Agreement lists. The Singapore counterpart, Appendix 11A.2, names only disaster relief claims adjusters and management consultants, so a Chilean agricultural manager or physical therapist has a route that a Singaporean in the same field does not.

Agricultural managers and physical therapists. Either may qualify on a baccalaureate degree, a Chilean licenciatura, or a título profesional. The alternative is a post-secondary certificate requiring three years of study in the specialty, combined with three years of experience in the specialty. A footnote to the Appendix defines a post-secondary certificate as one issued on completion of post-secondary study by an institution recognized by the Government of Chile, or accredited by the relevant competent authority in the United States. Both elements are required on the alternative route. Three years of study without three years of experience will not do, and neither will the reverse.

Disaster relief claims adjusters. The first route is a baccalaureate degree, licenciatura, or título profesional, plus successful completion of training in the areas of insurance adjustment that pertain to disaster relief claims. The alternative route replaces the degree with three years of experience in claims adjustment, but it keeps the training requirement. The specialized training is therefore common to both routes, which is easy to overlook.

Management consultants. A degree is required here in every case. The flexibility lies in the field of the degree rather than in its absence: where the degree is in a discipline unrelated to the area of the consulting agreement, the Appendix calls for equivalent professional experience, established by a statement or professional credential attesting to three years of experience in a field or specialty related to that consulting agreement.

What the exception does not change. Everything else about the category continues to apply. The person must be a national of Chile. The position must be a specialty occupation within the meaning of INA 214(i)(3). The employer must still file the labor attestation with the Department of Labor required by INA 212(t)(1). Non-immigrant intent is still required. And the documentary showing under Section D of Annex 14.3 is unchanged: proof of nationality, documentation describing the engagement and the purpose of entry, and documentation of the relevant minimum educational requirements or alternative credentials. Documentation on the alternative route should be assembled to track the Appendix language closely, because that is the language a consular officer will be applying. See the main requirements for an H-1B1 visa.

A separate hurdle for physical therapists. Licensure is not part of the H-1B1 classification test, as discussed under the special licensing requirements. Certification is a different matter. Physical therapists are a covered health care occupation under 8 CFR 212.15(c)(3), so the inadmissibility ground for uncertified foreign health care workers at INA 212(a)(5)(C) has to be addressed before admission. A physical therapist relying on the alternative credential route should plan for both requirements at once, since the certificate that satisfies the Appendix is not the certificate that satisfies section 212(a)(5)(C).

These carve-outs come from the text of the trade agreement and are applied through consular guidance rather than through a regulation in title 8, so the Appendix itself is the primary source to consult. Return to the H-1B1 overview for Chileans, or contact us to discuss whether a particular credential fits.