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| Sunday, June 15, 2008 |
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USCIS Update on FY2009 H-1B Cap-Subject Filings
By admin @ 6:11 AM :: 77 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that, except for cases being reviewed as potential duplicate filings, all receipts have been issued for cases selected in the random lottery. The California and Vermont Service Centers finished entering data on all selected cases by May 23, 2008, and mailed all receipts by May 24, 2008.
Cases that were thought to be duplicate filings (approximately 500 petitions) are being hand reviewed. Some were submitted as "protective filings" due to courier delivery confirmation problems, or where the petition was sent to an incorrect Service Center. Each will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If an appropriate explanation was submitted with the duplicate filing, there is a good chance of acceptance.
The USCIS has determined that the number of petitions selected during the random selection process will be sufficient to meet the cap limit. Rejection notices began being mailed out this week.
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 |
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USCIS Provides Opportunity for F-1 Students to Change Status to H1B
By admin @ 12:01 PM :: 207 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would allow F-1 students who are the beneficiaries of selected H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification.
The short-term measure follows an April 8, 2008 interim final rule that, among other actions, automatically extends the F-1 status of qualifying students who are the beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions to cover the gap between the expiration of a student’s F-1 status and the H-1B employment start date of October 1. To obtain the automatic extension, a student must be the beneficiary of an H-1B petition filed for the next fiscal year (with an October 1 employment start date) and have requested a change of status. For F-1 student beneficiaries of petitions that USCIS subsequently rejects, denies, or revokes, or for those who violate their status, the automatic extension terminates at that time.
Since the rule was published after the filing period had closed for new FY 2009 H-1B petitions, many petitioners of F-1 students did not include a request for a change of status with the H-1B petition. Instead, petitioners requested consular notification based on the assumption that these students would have been required to leave the United States to obtain an H-1B visa at a consular office abroad.
USCIS has determined that it will allow petitioners of F-1 students whose H-1B petitions were randomly selected to receive an H-1B visa number for FY2009 following the closure of the filing period, to now request a change of status on behalf of qualified beneficiaries, if such requests are received within 30 days of the issuance of the receipt notice.
To request a change of status in lieu of consular notification, petitioners (or authorized representatives) must send an email with the request to the USCIS service center where their petition is pending within 30 days of the issuance of the receipt notice. Special email addresses for each service center have been established specifically for this purpose. These addresses are listed below and are posted on the USCIS website. Petitioners should email their requests for change of status in lieu of consular notification upon receipt of the notice so the agency has the request before completing H-1B petition adjudication. The requests should include the receipt number and both the petitioner’s and beneficiary’s name, date of birth, I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) number, and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) number.
Email addresses for requesting change of status can be found at THIS LINK.
As additional information becomes available, we will post it at www.bashyamspiro.com.
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| Monday, April 28, 2008 |
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USCIS Starting To Process Advanced Degree H-1B Cases
By admin @ 12:00 PM :: 116 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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Our office has begun receiving receipt notices and approvals for premium processing 'regular-cap' and 'advanced-degree' H1B cases filed for Fiscal Year 2009. If you have yet to hear anything or receive a receipt notice from USCIS, one tip would be to check with your bank to see if the check for USCIS filing fees has been cashed. If it has, that is an indication that USCIS has selected your case for adjudication.
For cases that were filed under the regular H-1B cap, we would like to remind everyone that USCIS has stated that it will issue receipt notices by June 2, 2008. If you have not received a receipt notice yet, that does not automatically mean that your case has not been selected for review. We expect that USCIS will begin issuing receipt notices (or rejections) for regular-cap H1B applications throughout the month of May.
As additional information becomes available, we will post it at www.bashyamspiro.com.
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| Tuesday, April 15, 2008 |
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USCIS Conducts H-1B Lottery
By admin @ 4:43 AM :: 132 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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On April 14, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted its computer-generated random selection processes to select which H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would be adjudicated.
USCIS conducted two random selections - first on petitions qualifying for the 20,000 “master’s or higher degree” (advanced degree) exemption, and second on the remaining advance degree petitions together with the general H-1B pool of petitions for the 65,000 cap.
According to USCIS, the approximately 163,000 petitions received on the first five days of the eligible filing period for FY 2009 (April 1 through April 7, 2008) were labeled with unique numerical identifiers. USCIS has notified the appropriate service centers which numerical identifiers have been randomly selected, so each center may continue with final processing of the petitions associated with those numerical identifiers.
Petitioners whose properly filed petitions have been selected for full adjudication should receive a receipt notice dated no later than June 2, 2008. USCIS will return unselected petitions with the fee(s) to petitioners or their authorized representatives. The total adjudication process is expected to take approximately eight to ten weeks.
For cases selected through the random selection process and initially filed for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins April 14, the day of the random selection process. USCIS has “wait-listed” some H-1B petitions, meaning they may possibly replace petitions chosen to receive an FY-2009 cap number, but that subsequently are denied, withdrawn, or otherwise found ineligible. USCIS will retain these petitions until a decision is made whether they will replace a previously selected petition. USCIS will send a letter to the wait list petitioners to inform them of their status.
USCIS expects that for each of these wait-listed petitions, it will either issue a receipt notice or return the petition with fees within six to eight weeks.
As more information becomes available, we will post it at www.bashyamspiro.com.
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| Friday, April 11, 2008 |
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USCIS Receives Approximately 163,000 H-1B Visa Applications
By admin @ 10:50 AM :: 127 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree category.
USCIS expects that next week it will conduct the computer-generated random selection process, beginning with the selection of the 20,000 petitions under the advanced degree exemption. Those petitions not selected under the advanced degree category will join the random selection process for the cap-subject 65,000 limit.
USCIS will reject, and return filing fees for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, unless found to be a duplicate.
We will provide additional updates at www.bashyamspiro.com when they become available.
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| Tuesday, April 08, 2008 |
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USCIS Announces FY 2009 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached
By admin @ 12:56 PM :: 113 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2009. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the “advanced degree” exemption. Before running the random selection process, USCIS will complete initial data entry for all filings received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the precise day on which it will conduct the random selection process.
USCIS will carry out the computer-generated random selection process for all cap-subject petitions received. USCIS will select the number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the “advanced degree” exemption limit. USCIS will reject and return filing fees for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, unless found to be a duplicate. USCIS will handle duplicate filings in accordance with the interim final rule published on March 24, 2008 in the Federal Register.
The agency will conduct the selection process for “advanced degree” exemption petitions first. All “advanced degree” petitions not selected will be part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.
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| Tuesday, April 08, 2008 |
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DHS Extends OPT for Certain F-1 Students; Addresses F-1/H-1B Cap Gap Issue
By admin @ 7:48 AM :: 122 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas, Other
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. Currently, foreign students in F-1 nonimmigrant status who have been enrolled on a full-time basis for at least one full academic year in a college, university, conservatory, or seminary are eligible for 12 months of optional practical training (OPT) to work for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student’s major area of study. This interim final rule extends the maximum period of OPT from 12 months to 29 months for F-1 students who have completed a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree and accept employment with employers enrolled in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) E-Verify employment verification program.
To obtain an extension of OPT, eligible F-1 students must request a recommendation from their Designated School Official (DSO) and file a Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization prior to the expiration of their current OPT employment authorization. Once the I-765 application is filed, the student’s OPT is automatically extended for up to 180 days until a decision has been made on the case. This interim rule requires F-1 students with an approved OPT extension to report changes in the student’s name or address and changes in the employer’s name or address to the DSO. The rule also requires the employers of F-1 students with an extension of post-completion OPT authorization to report to the student’s DSO within 48 hours after the OPT student has been terminated from, or otherwise leaves, his or her employment with that employer prior to the end of the authorized period of OPT.
The interim final rule also ameliorates the “cap-gap” problem by extending the authorized period of stay for all F-1 students who have a properly filed H-1B petition and change of status request (filed under the cap for the next fiscal year) pending with the USCIS. If USCIS approves the H-1B petition, the students will have an extension that enables them to remain in the United States until the requested start date indicated in the H-1B petition takes effect. The automatic extension does not apply to cases where the H-1B petition is not selected by USCIS for processing or for H-1B petitions filed with a request for consular notification. However, it may be possible to amend the H-1B petition from consular processing to change of status so that the F-1 student can take advantage of the automatic OPT extension. If the H-1B application is ultimately revoked or denied, the automatic extension of OPT is immediately terminated.
We will post more information on this new interim rule as it becomes available on www.bashyamspiro.com.
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| Monday, April 07, 2008 |
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USCIS To Accept H-1B Applications Sent to Either Vermont or California Service Centers
By admin @ 7:50 AM :: 118 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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USCIS announced that it will not reject an H-1B petition that is subject to the fiscal year 2009 cap solely on the grounds that it was received at the wrong service center (e.g. the petition may have been inadvertently mailed to the California Service Center instead of the Vermont Service Center or vice versa).
It is important to note this accommodation does not apply if the petitions were sent to the Texas or Nebraska Service Centers.
USCIS is taking this limited, short-term measure to alleviate concerns from the public where an H-1B petition has been timely received by USCIS but at the incorrect Service Center. This measure applies only to H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2009 cap that are received by USCIS before the close of business on the “final receipt date”. USCIS will announce the final receipt date once the agency determines it has received the number of petitions needed to fill the congressionally mandated limitations of 65,000 new H-1B visas and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree exemptions per fiscal year.
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| Saturday, March 22, 2008 |
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USCIS Announces Changes to FY 2009 H1B Program
By admin @ 8:09 AM :: 162 Views ::
0 Comments :: News, H1B Visas
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an interim final rule that prohibits employers from filing more than one petition for an H-1B visa for a single employee in a fiscal year. The change is intended to promote a fair and systematic process for H-1B petitioners. This rule ensures that companies filing H-1B petitions that are subject to numerical limits will have an equal chance to receive consideration for an H-1B worker. This rule does not preclude related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) from filing petitions on behalf of the same alien for different positions, based on a legitimate business need.
Background
U.S. businesses utilize the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in fields that require theoretical and practical expertise in specialized occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher (or its equivalent), such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers. By law, USCIS cannot grant more than 65,000 new H-1B visas per fiscal year, subject to certain limited exceptions. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of aliens with U.S. earned masters’ or higher degrees are exempt from the H-1B numerical limitation of 65,000. USCIS administers a separate “20,000 cap” for such exempt petitions.
USCIS stated that it will use a random selection process for all the master’s degree or higher cap-exempt cases received on the first five business days available for filing H-1B petitions for a given fiscal year, if necessary. In the event that the U.S. master’s exemption limit is reached on the first five business days, USCIS will first conduct the random selection process for such petitions before it begins random selection for petitions to be counted toward the 65,000 cap. Petitions eligible for the U.S. master’s degree or higher exemption that are not selected to receive an H-1B visa number from the 20,000 cap will be considered with the other H-1B petitions in the random selection for the 65,000 cap filed on the first five business days.
Cap-Exempt Petition
USCIS also stated that petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the cap if the aliens will work at the defined institutions of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entities, or at nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations. Thus, employers may continue to file petitions for these exempt H-1B categories regardless of H-1B visa number availability.
Cap Procedures
USCIS will use the following process for handling H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2009 cap:
• April 1, 2008 is the first day petitions may be received for an October 1, 2008 start date. When it is determined that the numerical limitations have been reached, USCIS employs a random selection process to choose among the petitions received on the “final receipt date”. If the “final receipt date” falls within any one of the first five business days, the random selection will be run using all the cap-subject petitions received on those five days.
• USCIS will reject and return the filing fees(s) for all cap-subject H-1B petitions that are not selected in the process described above. The new rule clarifies that this provision only applies to petitions that indicate they are cap-subject. If a petitioner claims to be exempt from the cap and is later found to be subject to the cap, USCIS will not refund or return fees and that petition will be denied if no cap numbers are available.
• Petitions for the FY2009 cap received before April 1, 2008 will be rejected. A petition is considered received when USCIS takes possession of and stamps the petition as received, not by the date the petition is postmarked.
Premium Processing
Cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing that are received on the “final receipt date,” or during the initial five business day period mentioned above, cannot be processed until after the random selection has been completed. The premium processing 15-day adjudication period (processing deadline) will not begin until such time as USCIS has completed the random selection process.
Current H-1B Workers
Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, this rule does not affect USCIS processing of petitions filed to:
• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change from one cap-subject position to a different cap-subject position with a different employer; or
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.
If additional information on the H1B program is released by USCIS, we will post it at www.bashyamspiro.com.
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| Sunday, February 17, 2008 |
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Q and A On FY 2009 H-1B Filings
By admin @ 6:11 AM :: 180 Views ::
2 Comments ::  :: News, H1B Visas
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses the information in Part C of the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (Form I-129, page 11) to determine whether a petition is subject to the 65,000 and 20,000 (U.S. master’s degree or higher) H-1B numerical limitation caps. Please be sure to read these questions and answers carefully in advance of completing the petition and filing an H1B case.
Q. When can I file an H-1B Cap petition?
H-1B petitions can be filed six months in advance of the requested start date. Therefore, petitions seeking an October 1, 2008 start date can be filed no sooner than April 1, 2008. This is when the majority of H-1B cap subject petitions are filed. Conversely, petitions that are cap exempt may be filed at any time during the year, dependent on the petitioner’s need.
Q. Where should I mail my H-1B Cap subject petition?
Specific mailing addresses have been established for purposes of identification and processing of H-1B cap subject cases. H1B cap cases should be filed at the Vermont Service Center or the California Service center depending on jurisdiction. A separate mailing address has been established for certain types of educational or nonprofit organizations which file H-1B petitions on behalf of beneficiaries that are not counted against the H-1B numerical limitations. These cases will be filed at the California Service Center as described in this newsletter.
Q. What is Premium Processing Service?
For certain employment-based immigration benefits, petitioners may choose to file a Form I-907 with the accompanying filing fee of $1,000 to have their petition adjudicated within 15 calendar days (this fee is in addition to the required base filing and other applicable fees). H-1B petitions are eligible for the Premium Processing program.
The Form I-907 can be filed at the same time as or subsequent to the filing of Form I-129. If filed subsequent to the Form I-129, please be sure to include the receipt number (i.e. EAC 08 123 51234) of the Form I-129 in the pertinent section of Form I-907. Petitioners must use the latest version of Form I-907. Versions prior to August 28, 2006 will not be accepted.
Q. How do I ensure that my H-1B Cap petition is considered properly filed and accepted?
Be sure to complete all sections of the Form I-129 petition, the H Classification Supplement to Form I-129 (pages 7 and 8 of Form I-129), and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (pages 10 and 11). Original signatures are required on each form. Send the correct fee amount.
Tip: Applicants should use blue ink to sign the petition since this makes it easy for the USCIS to confirm that the signature is an original.
Checks should be payable to the Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dated within the last six months, and include the proper guarantee amount, and signature.
A certified Labor Condition Application (Form ETA 9035) from the Department of Labor must be submitted at the time of filing. A copy of the Labor Condition Application is acceptable. If the Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor is for multiple positions, provide the name, and USCIS case receipt number of any alien who has previously utilized it.
A duplicate copy of the petition must be submitted at the time of filing if the beneficiary will be seeking nonimmigrant visa issuance abroad. Please review the Department of State website at http://travel.state.gov/ to make sure that the consulate indicated on Form I-129 is able to process the beneficiary’s nonimmigrant visa application and for any other consulate-specific special instructions.
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