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Disclaimer: I am not a lawyerI assume you ask from the perspective of the employee; the employer should just hire a knowledgeable lawyer for doing it properly, it is expensive enough to justify the investment to reduce the risks of mistakes.As an employee, you (some details not included or vary per country you live):a) Review the qualifications needed for your profession (education and experience). No worth going further if you don't have such, with proper documentation; if you haven't graduated from college, for example, you want to make sure you will have your diploma before next April 1st when applications start (too late this year, it is April 1st already).b) Interview with a company that is willing to pay the extra costs in time and money, of supporting your H1B. The hardest part is that either you interview remotely, or you visit the US in a tourist/business visa paying for your self and spending enough time to get interviews, and stay during the process until...b) You get a formal offer from the company, which covers how you are properly qualified for the position, which in turn is a position that requires the professional experience and education that allows for an H1B to be sponsored, generally mentioning that they haven't been able to find enough qualified candidates in their area (the location for the position).This offer includes a salary that is equal or above the prevailing wage for the profession and metropolitan area. If the offer were for example $60,000 USD for a Software developer in San Francisco today, it would probably be rejected as too low; on the other side, it could perfectly be good enough in a small town in a region that has few software developers and average income for them is not so high.Note that if the position allows for telecommute it would be really hard to get a visa for it.c) You negotiate the offer, until both sides get to an agreement and you accept it.d) You provide the company's lawyer with all required documentation. From now to step (k) you will not know how the process is going, so you will be just waiting in the dark...e) The company apply, preferably on April 1st to make sure they are not rejected if quota fills soon.f) USCIS announces if the H1B quota is reached, and if a lottery will be conductedg) If a lottery is required (most years it happens), USCIS conducts it (will not get into the details, particularly Masters quota vs. general)h) USCIS notifies your company if they were not selected in the lottery, returning the fees paid; then your company notifies you, and it is the end of the process. Your company may or may not be interested in discussing opportunities in other countries, or for the next year.i) If you were selected in the lottery (congratulations), USCIS reviews the application, and approves or rejects it.j) USCIS notifies your company if the application is approved or rejected.k) Your company informs you of the result. If it was rejected, very similar to (h), the process end and you may or not have further opportunity with the companyl) If the H1B application was approved, congratulations! Now you will wait for the package from your company's lawyer, including all documentation you will need for getting the H1B stamp. The lawyer may ask you to get additional documentation, like renewing your passport...m) The package arrives! Now you get an appointment in your closer or more convenient US Embassy. Fees need to be paid for getting the appointment, then you fill long forms on their website.n) Your appointment date arrives. You go to the US embassy with all your documents and interview with an agent.o) The agent decides to stamp or not your H1B visa. If you don't get the stamp, depending on the reason, you may need to get another appointment or further documentation. Most often is just small stuff (one time I was requested to get a new passport, as mine had a little dent in my photo after a lot of use, all went well next appointment), but it can also be end of the process...p) If the agent approves, they get your passport and send you on the next few weeks, with the stamp.q) You got your passport with H1B visa! Now you and your company can talk about when will you travel to the USA and what will be your start date. It cannot be before October 1st, so generally is as close as possible to that date. Generally they will ask you to send a copy of your passport/visa.r) Travel date is decided and generally company pays for your transportation tickets) You fly or get to the US border point, with all your documentation. An immigration agent interviews you. They decide if you are admissible in the USA or not. If you are not, they reject your entry to the USA, and make you turn back (or require the airline to fly you back home). Very uncommon at this point of course, as forgetting your passport or visa...t) You are approved an in. You get to the hotel or location you will be to start your job the next day or so.u) First day at the job. In addition to signing contract, employee orientation and the like:You get your I-94 electronically and send it to your employer, for them to have proof of you being allowed to work for them.v) You work with them for up to 3 years. If you plan to change employer, location, and sometimes position, they will need to file for changes. If you plan to work longer, you can renew and stay up to 6 years on H1B.w) You either apply for Green Card (another long process, generally requiring company sponsorship) to stay further; or you return to your home country, staying at least for 1 year out of H1B status.y) Sometimes, after staying in your country, you go back to (a)