News Updates

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen? Tips to Successfully Manage the Corporate Immigration Process

08:07 02 October in LAC Blog by Larrabee
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It is not uncommon for our clients to reach out to us and ask for guidance on how best to internally manage the immigration process for its foreign national employees. Some of our clients are just venturing down this path for the first time and others are struggling to manage the internal demands of a growing immigration need within their companies. As a result, we thought it might be helpful to provide some general guidance on the challenges and the best practices we see on daily basis from the interaction with our clients which range in size from small startups...

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USCIS Announces Changes to Premium Processing for FY2020 Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions

22:41 19 March in News Updates by Larrabee
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What's new? U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing on Tuesday, March 12 for all H-1B petitions.   Today USCIS announced exceptions for FY2020 Cap-Subject H-1B petitions (petitions which will be filed beginning April 1, 2019). Per  USCIS, premium processing will be offered in two phases during the FY 2020 cap season so USCIS can manage the premium processing requests without fully suspending it as they did in previous years. The first phase will include FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status; the second phase will include all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions. Cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a...

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USCIS to Resume Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions on March 12, 2019

22:51 11 March in News Updates by Larrabee
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What's new? Today USCIS announced that it will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions.   Premium may now be included with any new H-1B filings, or interfiled with any H-1B petitions currently pending adjudication with USCIS. If an employer would like to add a premium request to any H-1B filing, please advise your LAC attorney. How does premium processing work? If an employer submits a premium processing request, together with the requisite $1410 filing fee, USCIS will guarantee a response within 15 calendar days of receipt of the request "or your money back."   The response may be an approval, denial,...

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FY2020 H-1B CAP FILING DEADLINE APPROACHING

23:24 25 February in News Updates by Larrabee
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Annual Filing Window The filing window for H-1B petitions seeking a FY2020 (10/1/19 to 9/30/20) cap or quota number will open on Monday, April 1, 2019.    As with prior years, we anticipate demand will exceed supply within the first week, which will mandate a lottery to determine which petitions will be selected to proceed to adjudication.   All petitions received at USCIS from Monday, April 1 through Friday, April 5 will be included in the lottery.    Last year 190,000 petitions were filed for the 85,000 visas available.  We anticipate similar volume this year. It is important to initiate any cap subject petitions now to ensure timely filing. Premium...

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USCIS to Resume Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions Filed on or before 12/21/2018

23:40 19 February in News Updates by Larrabee
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What's new? Today USCIS announced it will accept premium processing requests beginning on Tuesday, February 19th for all H-1B petitions filed on or before December 21, 2018. How does premium processing work? If an employer submits a premium processing request, together with the requisite $1410 filing fee, USCIS will guarantee a response within 15 calendar days of receipt of the request "or your money back."   The response may be an approval, denial, or request for additional evidence.   If USCIS issues a request for additional evidence, the premium processing clock stops, and will re-start at Day 1 when the response to the request is received...

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DHS Confirms Changes to H-1B Lottery Process

15:02 31 January in News Updates by Larrabee
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Confirms Changes to H-1B Cap / Lottery Process The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule today which amends regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions.  The Final Rule will be published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2019. WHAT WILL CHANGE?   U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reverse the order by which it selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the advanced degree exemption   Effective April 1, USCIS will first select H-1B petitions (or registrations, once the registration requirement is implemented) submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may be...

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USCIS to Resume Premium Processing for FY2019 H-1B Cap Petitions

23:41 25 January in News Updates by Larrabee
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What's new? Today USCIS announced it will accept premium processing requests beginning on Monday, January 28th, for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions.   This refers to H-1B petitions submitted in April 2018 which were selected in the lottery, but are still pending final adjudication with USCIS. Whom does this help? The opportunity to add a premium processing request to cap cases still pending from last year may be particularly beneficial for F-1 students whose "cap-gap" work authorization ceased on September 30, 2018.    These students have been unable to work pending adjudication on their H-1B petition, which if approved would have taken effect on...

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FY2020 H-1B CAP FILINGS

15:33 11 January in News Updates by Larrabee
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The filing window for H-1B petitions seeking a FY2020 (10/1/19 to 9/30/20) cap or quota number will open on Monday, April 1, 2019.   That will be the first day USCIS will accept H-1B petitions for the 2019 H-1B cap.  The start date of employment for approved petitions is October 1, 2019. What changes have been proposed this year? H-1B Cap Registration.  USCIS recently proposed a rule that would change the way H-1B "cap" petitions are filed and selected.  Currently, a fully completed petition must be filed for consideration in the random selection process that takes place in April of each year.  USCIS is proposing to change the process...

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