Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
What if an F-1 student must travel outside the U.S. during the cap-gap period?
OPT employment authorization and Duration of Status (D/S) are extended automatically for an F-1 student who is the beneficiary of a timely filed H-1B petition requesting change of status with a start date of October 1st. This permits an…
U.S. immigration law requires that a U.S. H-1B employer must file an amended H-1B petition if there is a material change in the terms and conditions of the H-1B employment. However, prior USCIS informal opinion letter or guidance provided little guidance on the types of changes that would constitute a material change. In the event…
USCIS has announced that it will suspend premium processing for all H-1B extension petitions between May 26, 2015, and July 27, 2015. It will use this time to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses and ensure that these applications for work authorization will be adjudicated in a timely manner.
Premium processing allows certain…
Beginning on April 1st and for five business days thereafter, until April 7th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap.
The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2016 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with…
Many businesses sponsoring H-1B specialty occupation worker or L-1 intra-company transfer petitions have experienced the frustration of unfair denials. Now, Information published in the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsmen Annual Report 2014 (“Report”) confirms that appeals from these determinations are almost always an exercise in futility.
Cases that are not approved can be appealed to…
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
AUTHOR: Robert Neale.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will begin accepting new H-1B petitions against the upcoming Fiscal Year 2015 H-1B quota on April 1, 2014. This year’s H-1B season is expected to be similar to last year’s, during which the 85,000 “cap” on new H-1Bs was reached in the first week petitions…
