The H-1B visa program, crucial for employers seeking to hire foreign talent in specialty occupations, has long been criticized for its inefficiencies and susceptibility to manipulation. With the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) receiving over three-quarters of a million registrations for a mere 85,000 available visas in the last cycle, the need for reform was undeniable. In...
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently announced that they will conduct a second random selection of H-1B cap registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2024. This comes after an initial random selection was carried out in March 2023, from which only the selected petitioners were eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The decision to proceed with a second...
On August 19, 2022, the US Department of Education no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. On November 1, 2022, USCIS announced how the loss of recognition will impact certain immigration benefit applicants. Students from impacted schools should contact their DSO immediately and discuss how to maintain their status....
Update July 15, 2022 The good news is that we have already received approvals for some of the H-1Bs affected by the receipt delay. Update July 1, 2022 First Vermont, now California is experiencing unusual delay in issuing H-1B receipt notices. Interestingly, Vermont has been transferring workload to California since June to address its own delay and speed up the intaking process. Update June 22,...
Update 12/21/2021 Official statement from USCIS regarding its decision to withdraw the H-1B selection final rule which would have changed the way H-1B registrations are selected by prioritizing those with high wages. Update 12/10/2021 The Biden Administration will no longer defend this Trump-era rule that prioritizes H-1B lottery selection to those with high salaries. See the article "H-1B Visa...
USCIS has now officially stated that H-1B cap-subject petition may have a start date of October 1 or later (and six months or less from the receipt date of the petition). Previously, USCIS required that the start date be only October 1. H-1B FAQ In FY 2021, USCIS rejected H-1B filings for stating a start date that is after October 1. Lawsuits were filed and USCIS lost. Those rejected were given...
H-1B employers sometimes would ask why they are filing the H-1B under the regular cap when the beneficiary who won the H-1B loettery holds a U.S. master's degree. The simple answer: the selection notice says so. Note that during H-1B registration, the registration is simply requesting consideration for Master's Cap registration when a beneficiary holds a qualified U.S. master's degree. Whether...
We are currently in the filing phase of this year's cap-subject H-1B season. As we send out completed forms for review and signature, we often receive questions about how the beneficiary was selected in the registration lottery. During H-1B registration, a beneficiary may qualify for the Master's cap exemption as long as they have or will have attained a US master's degree at the time of H-1B...
Update3 March 30, 2021 We are all bit shocked by the lottery results. Our selection rate is just over 20% which is a record low. I don't believe we have ever touched 39% in all of the previous lottery years. So this made us pause a little and wonder what's really going on with the registration this year. We've checked with clients who did the registration on their own and it seems like so far...
