On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting new H-1B petitions for professional positions. We note that these petitions will have a start date of Oct. 1, 2018.

Please review your employment needs now to determine whether you wish to sponsor any of your current or prospective employees for H-1B status. This includes those professionals already employed by you in F-1 Optional Practical Training status, E-3 status, TN status, J-1/J-2 status or L-1B status, and any individuals you may wish to bring on board on or after Oct. 1, 2018.

We expect that the H-1B quota will be fully subscribed within the first five business days of April. In 2017, USCIS received over 199,000 H-1B petitions for only 85,000 spots (inclusive of petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption).

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