The H-1B visa is among the most popular working visas in the U.S. for individuals filling professional positions. Most H-1B visas are subject to an annual quota or “cap.” Because demand exceeds the number of available visas,...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it completed its annual H-1B cap lottery selection process for fiscal year (FY) 2026. Given the high number of lottery registrations and fixed number of...more
America runs on semiconductors, also known informally as chips. Chips are integral to the cars we drive, the planes we fly, the systems that defend our country, and the computers that every single industry, from manufacturing...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed its annual H-1B cap lottery selection process for fiscal year 2025. Given the high number of lottery registrations and the fixed number of...more
Beginning March 6, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual H-1B Cap Lottery to award H-1B slots for professional workers in specialty occupations. There are a total of 85,000 visas...more
Each year in March, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a lottery to award H-1B slots to enough foreign workers to meet its 85,000 visa annual cap. This number includes 20,000 slots reserved for...more
Registration Dates Announced and Rule Prioritizing Selection of Highest Wage-Level Delayed - On February 5, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the...more
On Friday, February 5, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the FY2022 H-1B Cap Lottery will begin on March 9, 2021. ...more
On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order suspending the issuance of a variety of United States work visas until the end of 2020. ...more
As the spread of COVID-19 prompts increasing travel restrictions, and as layoffs become an unfortunate reality in many industries, both U.S. employers and employees holding temporary work visas in the United States need to be...more
As employers prepare plans to handle possible alternate employee work arrangements in light of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak, it is important to keep in mind how these plans and policies—including telework policies—may...more
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed it will utilize a new electronic registration system for the Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B lottery. By way of background, the H-1B visa program allows companies in the United...more
USCIS Will Accept Only New Employment-Based and Adjustment of Status Application Forms as of October 15, 2019 - On October 8, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that will no longer accept...more
It's March and here we are in the middle of another H-1B cap season. So I did what I do almost every day this time of year: I got up to head in to the office. But first I went for a run to clear my head. It is Saturday. It is...more
On April 1, 2019, USCIS will begin accepting cap subject H-1B professional worker petitions for a start date of October 1, 2019 (FY2020). Due to the high demand for H-1B visas and newly proposed rulemaking for cap-subject...more
Technology companies, including IT consulting companies, IT service providers and software designers, seek to employ the best and the brightest IT professionals to keep IT systems secure and to deliver innovative solutions....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has started returning H-1B petitions to employers whose cases were not selected in the recent H-1B lottery selection process. The USCIS reported that a total of 195,000 H-1B...more
On April 1, 2018, USCIS will begin accepting cap subject H-1B professional worker petitions for a start date of October 1, 2018. Due to the high demand for H-1B visas, we encourage employers to take time now to identify any...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will suspend Premium Processing of all H-1B filings starting on April 3, 2017. This includes all Fiscal Year 2018 H-1B cap filings, as well as H-1B...more
President Trump’s Executive Order (“Order”) of January 27, 2017, “Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,” could have a significant impact on the American immigration system. Employers...more
On April 1, 2017, 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 October 1, 2017....more
Employers seek predictability when hiring employees. You don’t need to be a mathematician (although that might help qualify you as an outstanding researcher) to know that the odds of being selected in U.S. Citizenship and...more
Most “new” H-1B petitions must be counted against an annual H-1B cap. This limit, or “cap,” administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is currently set at 65,000 plus an additional 20,000 reserved...more
On Thursday, November 20th, coinciding with President Obama’s announcement regarding his forthcoming executive action on immigration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a memo to the directors...more