The demand for H-1B visas continues to rise. Last year, demand for H-1B exceeded the available number of visas, and a lottery was held to determine which applications would be accepted. Employers should file H-1B applications by April 1, 2015, to ensure consideration for this year’s lottery and an opportunity to obtain a visa under
H-1B Lottery Selections Completed, Notices to be Issued
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in US Immigration
USCIS has announced that all H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions selected in the H-1B lottery have officially been data-entered for the 2015 Fiscal Year. While Receipt Notices for these data-entered petitions likely will be sent in the next few weeks, unselected petitions are now in the process of being returned to the Petitioner or attorney of record.…
Predictably, USCIS Reaches FY 2015 H-1B Cap in First Week of April
By Nicola Ai Ling Prall on
Posted in US Immigration
On April 7, 2014, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year 2015 beginning on October 1, 2014. On April 10, 2014, USCIS announced that it had received 172,500 petitions. USCIS has not announced the date on which it will conduct the random selection process.…
H-1B Cap Premium Processing
By Marko C. Maglich on
Posted in US Immigration
USCIS has announced that it will begin premium processing of H-1B petitions subject to the H-1B cap for Fiscal 2015 no later than April 28, 2014. (See www.uscis.gov). The annual “cap” on H-1B visas is 85,000. Normally, paying an additional filing fee of $1,225 and filing Form I-907 with an H-1B petition guarantee a…
Cap Hit in First Week: Alternatives to the H-1B
By Jackson Lewis P.C. on
Posted in US Immigration
AUTHOR: Davis C. Bae.
The USCIS announced on April 8, a week after it began accepting H-1B petitions, that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2014. It received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions, including petitions for the advanced degree exemption. This likely will mean…