H-1B petitioners and beneficiaries alike should soon have “closure” regarding the FY 2016 H-1B cap season.
A cap-subject H-1B petitioner (and beneficiary) may have held a glimmer of hope if it hadn’t yet received its returned H-1B petition, but the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS or the Immigration Service) announced today (July 14, 2015) that it has now completed processing the return of unselected fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions.
USCIS has indicated that an FY 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitioner that has not received either an I-797 receipt notice nor the returned unadjudicated H-1B petition by Monday, July 20, 2015, may contact the Immigration Service for information.
H-1B beneficiaries with approved FY 2016 cap-subject petitions who were granted H-1B status or who are admitted to the US in H-1B classification may begin working in H-1B status no sooner than October 1, 2015.
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Ms. Wadhwani is a partner in the Immigration Practice of Fox Rothschild LLP. She may be reached at cwadhwani@foxrothschild.com.