Law Brief: H-1B Visas – New Process and New (Upcoming) Deadlines
Benesch B-Cast 07: Immigration Deadlines and Demands Employers Need to Know
Federal immigration officials just announced yesterday that they are gearing up to conduct a second round of H-1B selections to ensure all slots for the FY 2025 cap are filled. If you receive new selections, you will be...more
The H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker visa programs has traditionally been the “go to” visa option for employers seeking to hire foreign nationals coming to the United States to fill non-professional or non-degreed...more
Missing out on the H-1B visa lottery can be disheartening, but it’s not necessarily the end of the road. If you employ foreign nationals, the good news is that you can explore certain short-term, long-term, and even some...more
The H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process debuted in March 2020 for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. The barrier to entry dropped significantly with the introduction of the electronic registration...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual electronic registration process for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap from March 6, 2024 to March 22, 2024. This year USCIS is implementing...more
With the H-1B cap pre-registration period quickly approaching, now is the appropriate time to review your hiring needs, identify those individuals you intend to sponsor for H-1B employment authorization and gather the...more
Last year, a would-be H-1B nonimmigrant employee had about a 14% chance of their registration being selected in the annual lottery. In response to backlash from U.S. employers following the extraordinary low selection rate...more
As the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap season quickly approaches, it is worth remembering that certain employers of healthcare professionals, such as healthcare systems and hospitals, may be eligible for H-1B cap-exemption....more
The H-1B Visa 2024 filing season is right around the corner. Are you prepared? This expert webinar will ensure you’re ready. H-1B season is upon us, and with only a few short months left to file, now is a crucial time to...more
Federal immigration officials announced on December 13 that the H-1B cap has been reached for FY 2024. Although you most likely expected the announcement, the finality inevitably leaves many employers and foreign national...more
Each year at this time we kick off H-1B Cap Season by working with U.S. employers to prepare for registration in the upcoming H-1B Cap Lottery. U.S. employers interested in sponsoring foreign nationals for specialty...more
On October 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which the agency indicates will modernize and improve the H-1B specialty occupation worker program. DHS states...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that as of October 11, 2023, the H-2B cap for nonagricultural workers had been reached for the first half of fiscal year 2024....more
The biggest problem with H-1B status is that Congress has authorized so few of them to be approved on an annual basis. For some non-profit employers, the cap on the numbers does not impact them... Originally published by...more
USCIS completed the second H-1B cap lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap on July 31, 2023. All employers with selected registrations have been notified. Employers with selected registrations from the second lottery may...more
On July 27, USCIS announced that it will conduct a second lottery for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap. USCIS has not yet indicated when the second lottery will occur....more
As June comes to a close, employers of the lucky foreign nationals selected in the FY2024 H-1B lottery are working to file their H-1B petitions by the June 30, 2023, deadline. This year, the United States Citizenship and...more
On January 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the dates for this year’s H-1B pre-registration filing period. The H-1B Cap Season: March 2023- The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is one of the...more
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2024. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
The U.S. Department of State announced that it will extend the authority of consular officers to waive in-person interviews for some non-immigrant visa categories through December 31, 2023. The determination to waive the...more
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual electronic registration process for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap in March 2023. Employers should start planning for cap registration now by...more
Although the economic expectations for 2023 seem uncertain, demand for H-1B visas for skilled workers in the next year will likely remain high. As a result, we urge employers to start assessing their current and prospective...more
For fiscal year (FY) 2023, the annual H-1B quota for 85,000 H-1Bs was met as of August 23, 2022, and on October 1, 2022, those H-1Bs that were approved as change-of-status petitions went into effect. To obtain H-1B...more
October 1, 2023 marked the start of the federal government’s fiscal year 2023 (FY 2023), with the Department of State (DOS) October Visa Bulletin taking effect the same day. What is sure to be disappointing to many is the...more