I have been studying in the US for past 5 years...I have my masters from here...still to be on the safe side I did take IELTS test...trust me, its not tough at all...you will be taking GENERAL one, not academic, so, its not tough...but its not mandatory. As they say on their website, you can use recommendation letters from your professor and if you have worked, your work experience letter from here, you should not need it. But they might give you lesser point than you deserve...if you take IELTS and have a score of 7.0 or higher in all the sections, you will get 4 in each section...a total of 16...if you don't take the test, it will be subjective for them and they might give you whatever they think is appropriate...it can be lesser than 16 as well...so, to be on the safe side, I suggest you take it. Plus, I have read blogs of so many people who were requested to take it later...Its better to take it now and submit everything at once so that your file will be complete and it will take lesser processing time...good luck with the process-if you are doing it...I strongly suggest you do, even if you have h1 in here...i am on h1 and I am still applying...