H-1B season is underway! U.S. employers can file for new H-1B visas on behalf of prospective or existing employees beginning April 2, 2018. The anticipated window for filing new H-1B petitions under the USCIS H-1B quota for FY2019 is April 2 through 6, 2018. The quota provides for 65,000 regular H-1B visas for individuals with a bachelor's degree or equivalent, and 20,000 additional H-1B visas for individuals who have a master's degree (or higher) from an accredited U.S. university.

At present, no changes have been enacted by Congress or the Trump Administration to the H-1B visa category. However, the issuance of post-filing Requests for Evidence has increased significantly for H-1B petitions, in particular for entry-level workers.

USCIS has confirmed it does not anticipate any procedural changes to FY2019 cap subject H-1B filings. USCIS has not yet announced whether premium processing will be available for H-1B cap subject petitions.

We expect the demand for H-1B visas to continue to be high this year and recommend that employers review upcoming hiring needs to determine as soon as possible if new H-1B petitions will need to be filed under the FY2019 quota for employment start dates of October 1, 2018.  
 
In your review, we recommend considering the following:       

• Determine whether the company employs any foreign nationals who will need (or may benefit from) a change to H-1B status. Examples include: F-1 and J-1 students, TN NAFTA professionals, L-1B specialized knowledge transferees, E-3 Australian specialty occupation professionals, and individuals with certain types of employment authorization documents (EADs).
  • Although the Trump Administration has not yet issued proposed regulatory changes, we anticipate the Administration will issue rules to eliminate the STEM OPT EAD as well as H-4 EAD programs.
• Determine if there are any prospective employees the company wishes to employ beginning October 1, 2018 or later who require a new H-1B petition. Example: recruiting someone outside the United States who requires an H-1B visa to work for the company.