Monthly Minute | Design Patents
On April 1 , 2024, USCIS announced that it received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. A random selection (lottery) was conducted from the...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The H-1B program allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in...more
In a recent announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed pivotal final rule aimed at fortifying the integrity of the H-1B registration process and minimizing the potential for fraud. This...more
The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024. USCIS has announced several significant changes to the H-1B program aimed at...more
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed. The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise...more
Starting April 1, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a meaningful fee increase, the first increase since 2016. Numerous case types and specific forms will receive significant fee...more
On November 19, U.S. Citizenship Services (USCIS) announced it had completed a third H-1B lottery selection for the fiscal year 2022 cap. This is the third H-1B lottery selection this year. USCIS allows for 85,000 H1-B...more
As we’ve previously explained, some big changes are coming this year to the H-1B visa process. Employers use H-1B visas to temporarily employ workers in “specialty occupations” – generally, jobs that require a bachelor’s...more
As we previously advised, the H-1B lottery process is undergoing changes for cap-subject employers. The H-1B is the most common professional work visa, limited by a numerical quota of 65,000 regular cap approvals per year,...more
United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has implemented a new process for the annual H-1B lottery. Employers wishing to file H-1B cap-subject petitions with a start date of October 1, 2020, must first submit...more
On January 31, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule making significant changes to the H-1B CAP lottery process. This rule added an electronic registration requirement for employers...more
Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that an H-1B cap registration system (from which the annual H-1B lottery will be run) will be implemented for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers should identify as soon as possible any current employees and employment candidates who may require H-1B work permit sponsorship before October 1, 2021, given that it is anticipated USCIS will...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule requiring employers to pay a $10.00 non-refundable fee for each H-1B cap registration submitted, once the electronic system is implemented. This final...more
On October 1, 2018, USCIS will implement a fee increase for their premium processing service. The new fee for premium processing will be $1,410.00, a 14.92 percent increase from the current fee of $1,225.00....more