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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
This year brought many key immigration policy changes in the employment-based immigration arena and 2019 is expected to be no different. H-1B Petitions: Interpretation of "Specialty Occupation". A more narrow interpretation of the positions that qualify as a "Specialty Occupation" continues to result in...
Below is a brief update on the renegotiations of NAFTA that have taken place between the U.S., Canada and Mexico: On September 30, 2018, the U.S., Canada and Mexico reached an agreement, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This agreement is not yet finalized as...
Begins at Noon EDT on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Ends at Noon EST on Tuesday, November 6, 2018 The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (also known as the Green Card or DV Lottery) provides immigrant visas each fiscal year for persons from countries with low rates of immigration...
October 1st marks the date when H-1B petitions filed under the annual cap are set to take effect. This year is somewhat different as a large number of H-1B petitions remain pending with USCIS. Below are some important reminders for approved H-1B petitions and options...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published notice today that it is increasing the premium processing fee charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). DHS is increasing the fee by 14.92 percent, which reflects the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last...
