USCIS has reached the congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B visa cap for fiscal year 2019. USCIS has also received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the 20,000 visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap.

The USCIS will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited.

USCIS...

How many times can I renew my H-1B visa?

H-1B visas are granted for a period of three years.  Often, H-1B visa holders may find that they wish to remain in the United States to continue working for their sponsored employer.  Visa holders have the option to renew their...

As a reminder to all U.S. employers, H-1B season is almost here! United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will start accepting new H-1B petitions for the next Fiscal Year on Monday, April 1st, 2019. As such, employers should start immediately identifying current and future employees who will require sponsorship for new Cap-subject...

The H-1B visa program generally allows a foreign employee to work for a specific sponsoring American employer. As is true in many employment situations, the location of work can change. USCIS has published a policy memorandum making clear that USCIS may request detailed documentation to ensure a legitimate employer-employee relationship is maintained while an...

The first time Wage Level I RFEs were reported were in early June 2017 and targeted H-1B petitions filed in April 2017 under the annual H-1B cap. Initially, most of the RFEs were issued by the Vermont Service Center although it appears that California is also catching up and issuing their own version of...

It was recently announced that USCIS Service Center Operations indicated that it is on track to resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions on or before October 3rd, 2017.

On September 18th, 2017, USCIS issued a press release stating that it resumed premium processing for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year...

How would the proposed new U.S. immigration system work?

New legislation backed by President Trump could drastically alter the current immigration system.  Under the new system, highly educated, English speaking immigrants will be given priority to immigrate to the U.S.  While potential immigrants in many countries fear these changes to come, Indians...

The Justice Department cautioned employers petitioning for H-1B visas not to discriminate against U.S. workers. The warning came as the federal government began accepting employers’ H-1B visa petitions for the next fiscal year. The H-1B visa program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations such as science...

March 9th, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an copy of the final rule pertaining to optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The official version of the final rule is slotted to be published in the Federal Register on March...

 

Upon approval of H-1B petition by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)[1], foreign nationals residing abroad may need to go to the U.S. Consulate/Embassy to get an H-1B visa stamped into their passport before they can travel to and enter the United States. Before going for the visa interview, it is very...