H-1b Cap 2016 a done deal

Thank you to my entire staff, attorneys, paralegals, and interns. #H-1b season 2015 was a success.  Thank you to the many clients who entrusted the Fleischer Law Firm with these critical filings . It is a pleasure to work with you and watch your business grow. May the H-1b lottery odds forever be in your favor. 

Time to Start planning for the FY2016 H-1b Cap

Planning for the FY16 H1B Cap Season

 On Wednesday, April 1, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H1B cap-subject case filings for fiscal year 2016 (FY16). April 1st may seem a long time from today, but employers and potential H1B candidates should be preparing now. The Fleischer Law Firm is already accepting H1B cap-subject cases for FY16. Contact us today with your candidates and questions.

 What is an H-1b visa ?
The H1B visa classification permits a foreign national to work in the United States for a temporary period. It is available for offers of employment that are in a specialty occupation which is generally a job that requires a Bachelor’s degree of higher. A person may hold H1B status for a maximum of six years, and it may be issued in increments of up to three years by the USCIS. An employee may receive extensions of H1B status beyond six years in certain circumstances, if s/he is in the process of applying for employment-based permanent residence (commonly referred to as the "green card"). H1B visas are numerically limited, with a total of 85,000 visas available each fiscal year (20,000 of these visas are restricted to individuals who have received master's degrees or higher from U.S colleges or universities). This limitation is called the H1B cap.

  What is the H-1b Cap ?
Each year, H1B cap-subject cases can be filed beginning on April 1,. Under USCIS regulations, the minimum filing period for H1B cap cases is five business days. If there are still cap numbers available at the end of the first five days, the cap remains open until filled. If there are enough cases to meet or exceed the cap in the first five days, the cap closes. In that event, the USCIS stops accepting new H1B cap filings, and a lottery is conducted from the cases filed during that first week to randomly select the cases that the USCIS will adjudicate. The remaining cases are then returned without being processed.

 The Lottery
Last year, The USCIS received over  170,0000 H-1b filings . Thus, a lottery was needed to select from the cases filed during the minimum required filing period. Analysts believe the cap will be met the first week again this year. .

  The Time to Prepare is NOW The Fleischer Law Firm begins to accept cap-subject H1B cases months prior to April 1st each year. While these petitions cannot be filed with the USCIS until then, initiating the process early provides a number of potential advantages. First of all, the attorney working on the case will have time to fully identify and consider all documents needed from either the employer and/or foreign national candidate.

 Planning for Employers Employers should begin considering and vetting which of their employees may need H1B cap-subject filings. Most commonly, these are students on F-1 optional practical training (OPT). Other typical examples include L-2 employees working on employment authorization documents (EADs), who may wish to hold a status that is not dependent upon their spouses. Further, there is always a ripe crop of H-4 spouses who are looking to obtain an H-1b in order to work. Employers should anticipate their clients needs for FY16 and call our Firm now.

 Planning for Foreign Nationals/ Employees While many employers proactively identify their needs for H1B filings, foreign national workers still should approach their employers, generally through the Human Resources Department or managers. It is also important to update your resumes, make sure you have foreign degree evaluations, and have all your previous immigration paperwork like I-94s, I-20s and passports. This can be particularly important if one's employer is unfamiliar with H1B filings and may need to seek appropriate legal guidance in order to make an informed decision.

Tips and Requirements for Filing

1. Complete all sections of the Form I-129 petition, including the H Classification Supplement (pages 11 and 12 of the form) and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement (pages 17-19). Make sure the Form I-129 has a revision date of November 23, 2010, or later. (You can find current versions of forms at www.uscis.gov/forms.)

2. Make sure each form has an original signature, preferably in black ink.

 3. Include a signed check or money order with the correct fee amount.

4. Submit all required documentation and evidence with the petition at the time of filing to ensure timely processing.

5. You must submit a certified Department of Labor LCA (Form ETA 9035) at the time you file your petition. A copy of the LCA is acceptable.

6. You must submit evidence of the beneficiary’s education credentials at the time of filing. If all of the requirements for a degree have been met, but the degree has not yet been awarded, you may submit the following alternate evidence: *

 A copy of the beneficiary’s final transcript; or * A letter from the registrar confirming that all of the degree requirements have been met. If the educational institution does not have a registrar, then such a letter must be signed by the person in charge of educational records where the degree will be awarded.

7. If the beneficiary will be applying for a nonimmigrant visa abroad, you must submit a copy of your H-1B petition and any subsequent response to a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny with your filing. USCIS will not make a copy if you do not provide one.

 8. You must file your petition with the correct service center depending on the H-1B beneficiary’s work location(s) as specified in the petition.

9. The following fees may be required with a petition subject to the cap: * Base filing fee: $325 * $750 for employers with 1 to 25 full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt * $1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time equivalent employees, unless exempt * $500 to be submitted with a request for initial H-1B status or with a request for a beneficiary already in H-1B status to change employers. (This fee does not apply to Chile/Singapore H-1B1 petitions.) * $2,000 to be submitted by a petitioner that employs 50 or more employees in the United States, if more than half of those employees are in H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status. * $1,225 for employers seeking Premium Processing Service

  Conclusion

Being well prepared for the H1B cap season, not to mention being represented by an experienced legal team, can mean the difference between an H1B approval, and having to try again next year. It should be noted that once this cap is closed, the next H1B cap will not open until April 1, 2016, with an H1B start date of October 1, 2016.

H-1b cap fy2015 news

Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions to Begin by April 28, 2014 WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2015 cap on April 1, 2014. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition with the correct fee. USCIS will not rely on the date that the petition is postmarked. The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2015 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap. USCIS anticipates receiving more than enough petitions to reach both caps by April 7. The agency is prepared to use a random selection process to meet the numerical limit. Non-duplicate petitions that are not selected will be rejected and returned with the filing fees. Due to the high level of premium processing receipts anticipated, combined with the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first 5 business days of the filing season, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice. To facilitate the prioritized intake of cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases no later than April 28, 2014. For more information on premium processing for FY 2015 cap-subject petitions, see the USCIS Alert. H-1B petitioners should follow all requirements to avoid processing delays and possible requests for evidence. USCIS has detailed information, including an optional checklist, to assist in completing and submitting an FY 2015 H-1B petition. The processing worksheet is available on the USCIS website, www.uscis.gov. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and computer programming. For more information on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program and current Form I-129 processing times, visit the H-1B FY 2015 Cap Season Web page. Or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 or (800) 767-1833 (TDD for the hearing impaired). For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook(/uscis), and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

Update on H-1b receipts for FY 2014

USCIS has started the data entry process for H-1B petitions selected in the lottery. Premium processing cases are being handled first and data entry for those cases should be completed by April 15. USCIS announced on March 15, 2013, that the 15-day premium processing clock will start on April 15. (AILA Doc. No. 13031549) At the AILA Spring CLE conference on April 12, 2013, Donald Neufeld, Associate Director of the Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Directorate, informed the audience that data entry for non-premium processing cases will begin after the premium processing cases are entered. Data entry for non-premium cases will likely not be completed until sometime in May, and rejection notices for petitions not selected in the lottery will be sent out after that. Please note that when the cap was reached on the first day in 2008, USCIS did not complete data entry and issue receipt notices until late in May.

H-1b receipts I-797s are being issued

AILA members are beginning to receive premium processing receipts from the VSC for FY2014 H-1B petitions that state “The Vermont Service Center will adjudicate this case within 15 calendar days of the ‘received date’ set forth above.” Members are reminded that USCIS suspended premium processing for FY2014 H-1B petitions until April 15, 2013. The USCIS notice advises “While the Form I-797 receipt notice may indicate the date that the premium processing fee is received, the 15-day processing period set by 8 CFR 103.7(e)(2) will not begin until April 15, 2013.”

H-1B cap met. Lottery has begun.

The USCIS has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2014 (H-1B Regular Cap). 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 (H-1B Masters Cap). This is the first year since FY 2008 that the cap has been reached so quickly. It is truly a shame. USCIS received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 7, 2013, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process (commonly known as a “lottery”) to select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 for the general category and 20,000 under the advanced degree exemption limit. For cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, USCIS will reject and return the petition with filing fees, unless it is found to be a duplicate filing. CIR can not come soon enough

The "Immigration Innovation Act of 2013" May Double H-1B Visa Cap

With all the talk of CIR, The "Immigration Innovation Act of 2013" May Double H-1B Visa Cap and will help "LEGAL" business based Immigration According to the ACT 1. Increase H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000 2. Establish a market-based H-1B escalator, so that the cap can adjust – up or down – to the demands of the economy (includes a 300,000 ceiling on the ability of the escalator to move) o If the cap is hit in the first 45 days when petitions may be filed, an additional 20,000 H-1B visas will be made available immediately. o If the cap is hit in the first 60 days when petitions may be filed, an additional 15,000 H-1B visas will be made available immediately. o If the cap is hit in the first 90 days when petitions may be filed, an additional 10,000 H-1B visas will be made available immediately. o If the cap is hit during the 185-day period ending on the 275th day on which petitions may be filed, and additional 5,000 H-1B will be made available immediately. 3. Uncap the existing U.S. advanced degree exemption (currently limited to 20,000 per year) 4. Authorize employment for dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders 5. Increase portability of high skilled foreign workers by: o Removing impediments and costs of changing employers; o Establishing a clear transition period for foreign workers as they change jobs; and, o Restoring visa revalidation for E, H, L, O, and P nonimmigrant visa categories Student Visas  Allow dual intent for foreign students at U.S. colleges and universities to provide the certainty they need to ensure their future in the United States Immigrant Visas and Green Cards  Enable the recapture of green card numbers that were approved by Congress in previous years but were not used  Exempt certain categories of persons from the employment-based green card cap: o Dependents of employment-based immigrant visa recipients o U.S. STEM advance degree holders o Persons with extraordinary ability o Outstanding professors and researchers  Provide for the roll-over of unused employment-based immigrant visa numbers to the following fiscal year so future visas are not lost due to bureaucratic delays  Eliminate annual per-country limits for employment based visa petitioners and adjust per-country caps for family-based immigrant visas U.S. STEM Education & Worker Retraining Initiative  Reform fees on H-1B visas and employment-based green cards; use money from these fees to fund a grant program to promote STEM education and worker retraining to be administered by the states

Almost 20% of all H-1b still left unadjudicated by USCIS

From AILA Author: Eleanor Pelta on 09/26/2012 USCIS has told AILA that between the California Service Center and the Vermont Service Center, perhaps as many as 17,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions filed between April and mid-June remain unadjudicated, and many remain completely “untouched” by examiners. That means that USCIS has done very little, or nothing, with nearly 20% of the petitions filed by U.S. employers seeking the services of foreign high-skilled workers in fields as diverse as science, technology, business, education and marketing. USCIS has refused AILA’s requests to speed up processing of the backlog of H-1B petitions, saying that businesses that want faster service should request Premium Processing. Telling a large corporate petitioner to pay $1225 for Premium Processing Service in order to get an H-1B petition acted on after it has sat untouched for four months or more is bad enough – you’d think that for the more than two thousand dollars in filing fees that most petitioners pay that USCIS would act on a petition with greater alacrity – but, we know from USCIS’ own data from the 2008 H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment report that many of the businesses that use the H-1B program to meet needs for highly skilled experts are smaller businesses, those with fewer than 25 employees, with revenues under $10 million, and operating for less than ten years – the emerging companies and start-ups that are the focus of the agency’s entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses don’t embark on the H-1B process lightly. Plans to bring on an H-1B usually start early in the year, and employers know quite well that the candidate won’t be able to start until October 1st, at the earliest. Projects are mothballed, customers are warned, and contracts are put on hold, waiting for the beginning of the new fiscal year and the arrival of the specialist so that folks can get back to business. For those employers lucky to have former students working on practical training, which expires on September 30th, seamless and uninterrupted employment is expected, or at least hoped for. If the candidate is overseas, arrival will be further delayed while a visa is obtained from a U.S. consulate. All of these delays could be avoided if USCIS would efficiently process H-1B petitions. It’s not like there has been a change in the law that has caused the delays. They simply haven’t, don’t have a reason for the backlogs, and when they were asked late in August to speed up processing, they said they were trying, but they weren’t going to make any special efforts, and, if a business wants faster service, to pay up. Exacting another twelve hundred dollars from a small business to get USCIS to do in fifteen more days what it hasn’t done for over four months sure doesn’t seem to be a way to promote startup businesses and spur job creation. USCIS needs to get with its own program and promptly adjudicate the pile of H-1B petitions that have been on the shelves for months.

Updated h-1b count 2012

May 18, 2012 H-1B Cap Count (Updated 5/22/12) USCIS updated its count of FY2013 cap-subject H-1B petitions & advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 5/18/12, nearly 42,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 16,000 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

H-1bs season ready to go

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 cap on Monday April 2, 2012. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee. USCIS will not rely upon the date that the petition is postmarked.

The congressionally mandated numerical limitation on H-1B petitions for FY 2013 is 65,000. Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap.
USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap. If the number of applications received exceeds the numerical cap, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the pool of petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.
Petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations. Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are exempt from the cap until December 31, 2014. Employers may continue to file petitions for these cap-exempt H-1B categories seeking work dates starting in FY 2012.
Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap also do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap. Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process FY 2012 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 employers; or allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.
H-1B petitioners should follow all statutory and regulatory requirements as they prepare petitions to avoid delays in processing and requests for evidence. USCIS has developed detailed information, including a processing worksheet, to assist in the completion and submission of FY 2013 H-1B petitions.

H-1b Visas are gone. H-1b cap reached!

As predicted by the Fleischer Law Firm in Cincinnati, Ohio, H-1bs would be going fast. They did and they are gone. Please contact us if your company wants to file an H-1b for Fiscal year 2012. We can file as early as April 1, 2011.



WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2011. USCIS is notifying the public that yesterday, Jan. 26, 2011, is the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY2011.

The final receipt date is the date on which USCIS determines that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 65,000. Properly filed cases will be considered received on the date that USCIS physically receives the petition; not the date that the petition was postmarked. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY2011 that arrive after Jan. 26, 2011.

USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions that are subject to the cap and were received on Jan. 26, 2011. USCIS will use this process to select petitions needed to meet the cap. USCIS will reject all remaining cap-subject petitions not randomly selected and will return the accompanying fee.

FY 2011 H-1bs still available but running out fast

USCIS updated its count of FY2011 cap-subject H-1B petitions and advanced degree cap-exempt petitions receipted. As of 1/21/11, approximately 62,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. USCIS has receipted 20,000 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. AILA Doc. No. 10042368.

Call the Fleischer Law Firm if you or an employee needs an H-1B visa

H-1b FY2010 Cap update

As of July 9, 2010, approximately 24,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 10,600 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.

Please call The Fleischer Immigration Group of Cohen , Todd Kite & Stanford in Cincinnati , Ohio to process your H-1b visa. (513) 421-4020