The H-1B visa is issued to skilled, temporary workers engaging in specialty occupations for employers in the United States. The process for attaining an H-1B visa begins with the employer's submittal of a labor condition application (LCA) to the Department of Labor. Once the LCA is certified, he sends it along with Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. In order for an occupation to qualify as a specialty occupation it must require the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and the worker must have at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Examples of specialty occupations include education, physical sciences, medicine and law. Once approved the nonimmigrant is granted a period of six years to live and work under H-1B status in the United States. For workers engaged in work related to the Department of Defense, the H-1B can be issued for ten years. Once in the U.S., in order to maintain H-1B status, the worker must maintain employment with the employer that sponsored his visa. If he chooses to leave the employ of his sponsor, the new employer must repeat the application procedure to secure a new H-1B visa for the nonimmigrant.