FY 2009 H-1B Petitions Can Be Filed On April 1, 2008
January 26, 2008
Reminder: FY 2009 H-1B Petitions Can Be Filed On April 1, 2008
Clients Are Advised To Plan Ahead and Gather Necessary Supporting Documentation
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Employers hoping to hire new employees in H-1B status for the 2009 fiscal year (FY 2009) that starts on October 1, 2008 are reminded that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will start accepting such petitions on April 1, 2008. Given that last year, USCIS received so many petitions on the first day of the filing season that the agency utilized a lottery to determine which petitions would be processed, it is critical that all H-1B petitions for cap-subject foreign workers be submitted no later than April 1. Employers are therefore urged to plan ahead, gather the necessary supporting documentation, and consult with their immigration counsel as soon as possible about any FY 2009 H-1B filings.
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As of April 1, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin to accept advance filings of H-1B cases for employment in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, including cases falling under the 20,000 H-1B cap exemption for foreign nationals holding advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Both standard and advanced degree H-1B cases with employment start dates in FY 2009, which begins on October 1, 2008, may be filed up to six months before the date that the prospective employee is to begin work. For example, where employment is to begin on October 1, 2008, an H-1B petition may be filed as early as April 1, 2008.
Standard H-1B cases filed beginning on April 1 will count against the overall FY 2009 H-1B cap of 65,000. However, the standard H-1B cap is reduced by the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), which set aside 6800 H-1B numbers for professionals from those two countries each fiscal year. In practical terms, therefore, just 58,200 H-1B numbers will be available in the standard H-1B pool for FY 2009, though some unused FTA visas from FY 2008 may be recaptured and later made available for FY 2009 employment. Advanced-degree cases will count against the 20,000 additional H-1B numbers made available pursuant to the provisions of the H-1B Visa Reform Act.
Rapid Cap Exhaustion Expected
The last several fiscal years have seen exhaustion of H-1B numbers at an increasingly fast pace.
• In FY 2006, standard H-1B numbers were reached in just over four months, by August 10, 2005. Advanced degree numbers for FY 2006 were exhausted in approximately eight months.
• In FY 2007, the standard H-1B cap was reached on May 26, 2006 – just eight weeks after the opening filing date of the fiscal year; advanced degree numbers were exhausted by July 26, 2006.
• In FY 2008, USCIS received considerably more than 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions on April 2, 2007 (which was the first day petitions could be filed, since April 1 was a Sunday) and used a lottery to select which petitions would be processed. Advanced degree numbers were also used up rapidly and were exhausted by April 30, 2007.
Employers should begin their employment planning as soon as possible so that H-1B petitions for cap-subject employees can be prepared well in advance of April 1 and can be submitted to USCIS for receipt on that date. Relevant documentation should be gathered and prepared as soon as practicable, including certified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), copies of college or university degrees or transcripts, evaluations of foreign educational credentials, and certified translations of any foreign language documents. Note that prospective H-1B workers must already have been granted at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent at the time of filing.
However, even with timely filing on April 1 there is no guarantee that H-1B petitions filed with USCIS on April 1 will be processed if, like this past year, the agency receives more than enough petitions on that day to satisfy the annual H-1B cap.
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Important Notice for H-1B Visa Holders
January 26, 2008
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO H-B HOLDERS WHO WILL BE APPYING FOR VISAS:
New step involved (PIMS) which could result in delays – please plan accordingly if you are renewing or obtaining an H-1B visa
Requirement for Petition Approval to be in PIMS
According to an unofficial copy of an 11/13/2007 DOS cable obtained by AILA but not yet posted to the public, before issuing an H, L, O, P, or Q visa consular posts must now first verify the approval of the underlying petition though the CCD in a new report called “PIMS” (Petition Information Management Service), even if the visa applicant has a paper Form I-797 approval notice. Consulates are therefore no longer accepting I-797 as primary evidence of approval for H, L, O, P, Q visas. Approval must be in PIMS database before visa can be granted. If not in PIMS, DOS must confirm with CIS
Under this system, a paper Form I-797 approval notice can be used to schedule an appointment, but may not be sufficient proof for granting the H, L, O, P, or Q visa, if the consulate does not also find the petition approval information in the CCD PIMS report.
The cable instructs posts that cannot find petition approval information in the CCD, to e-mail the Kentucky Consular Center’s (KCC) Fraud Protection Unit (FPU), which will “research approval of the petition and, if able to confirm its approval, make the details available through the CCD within two working days.”
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!H1B Visa Program
January 26, 2008
Lots of information on the H-1B visa program, particularly since the April 1st opening of the quota approaches. This will be of particular interest to students who are in, or will be applying for optional practical training with the hope of securing a work employment visa with a sponsoring institution or company.
Benefits of Optional Practical Training (OPT)
* Your career in the US after graduation should ALWAYS start with Optional Practical Training (OPT).
* You must apply before you complete all requirements for degree.
* You get one year for each higher degree you complete.
* OPT ideally acts as a bridge between your studies and the workplace.
* It allows you to “get your foot in the door” with a US employer without any paperwork on their part: vitally important.
* It allows you to try more than one job if you wish.
* While in some cases it may be possible to proceed directly to H1B or even permanent residence without OPT, this is usually inadvisable.
What is H1B Visa
* It is the principal immigration status available for persons temporarily working in professional level jobs (“specialty occupations”) in the US.
[Read more]
Global Immigration Client Alert
December 26, 2007
WORLDWIDE - Holiday Season May Delay Work Permit/Visa Application Processing
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Government offices generally are short-staffed or close during the holiday season. As a result, processing delays should be expected for visa and work permit applications during the months of December and January, particularly in Latin America and Europe.
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USCIS Further Expands Premium Processing for I-140 Petitions
September 27, 2007
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is extending its Premium Processing Service to three new types of employment-based immigrant petitions. As of September 25, 2006, premium processing – which allows U.S. employers to pay a $1,000 premium processing fee in exchange for processing within 15 calendar days – will be available for the following petition types: (1) first preference outstanding professors and researchers; (2) second preference members of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, except National Interest Waiver cases; and (3) third preference workers not classifiable as skilled workers or professionals (also referred to as “other workers”).
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!USCIS Announces Completion of FY 2008 H-1B Lottery
April 16, 2007
We have received advance notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that on April 12, 2007 it conducted the computer-generated random selection process to determine which H-1B petitions, subject to the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for the 2008 fiscal year (FY 2008), would continue to final processing.
The agency has confirmed that it received a total of 123,480 cap-subject petitions on April 2 and 3. These petitions were labeled with unique numerical identifiers, and a sufficient number of petitions to reach the annual H-1B cap was then selected randomly by computer. The chosen numerical identifiers were then transmitted to the appropriate Service Center for further processing.
Within the next four weeks, a receipt notice will be generated for each petition that was selected by lottery for adjudication. Those that were not chosen will be sent back to the petitioner or authorized representative along with the fee(s).
For cases that were initially filed with requests for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins on April 12, which is the date petitions were chosen through the random selection process.
USCIS will provide additional updates as the processing of FY 2008 H-1B cap cases continues. The USCIS announcement (which at this writing is not yet posted on the agency’s website, but should appear shortly) does not contain any information about the advanced degree cap. Given that the most recent information released by the agency indicated that as of April 9, USCIS had received approximately 12,989 petitions counting against the 20,000 cap for foreign nationals holding master’s or higher degrees from U.S. universities, it seems likely that the advanced degree cap has not yet been reached.
We understand that many employers or their attorneys have already received receipt notices for cap-subject FY 2008 H-1B cases. However, USCIS has indicated informally that receipts dated on or before April 12, 2007 are not to be considered as evidence that the petition was selected in the random selection process.
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