USCIS just announced that it will be publishing a notice in the Federal Register to delay implementation of changes to the H-1B Selection Final Rule until December 31, 2021. If published as preliminarily announced, this will mean that the new H-1B Cap Selection process will not affect the upcoming FY2022 H-1B Cap Employer Registration
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PLEASE SEE MY LATER POSTS ON THIS TOPIC FOR UPDATED INFORMATION. THANK YOU.
At the time of this posting (February 3, 2021), we continue to await the final H-1B Cap registration timings from USCIS. In addition, questions remain regarding the agency’s January 8, 2021 Final Rule that would change the H-1B Cap Registration selection process…
J-1 Waiver Physicians: COVID-19 Reduction in Hours and Telehealth (Limited) Temporary Flexibility
On May 11, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum relating to certain J-1 waivered foreign medical graduates during the COVID-19 national emergency. The memo, captioned “Temporary Policy Changes for Certain Foreign Medical Graduates During the COVID-19 National Emergency” was issued solely as guidance to USCIS officers with regard…
USCIS Issues FY2021 H-1B Cap Lottery Results
With lightning speed, USCIS closed the FY2021 H-1B Cap Registration Process, conducted the lottery (random selection process), and issued the lottery results.
Since yesterday, March 27, 2020, the agency has been sending email notices prompting attorneys and registrants to check their “myUSCIS” online accounts for results. USCIS has stated that it intends to notify all…
Update on Rule on H-1B Registration Fee
To update my September 5, 2019 post, USCIS has announced a final rule that requires a $10 non-refundable registration fee for each cap-subject H-1B submitted by petitioning employers. USCIS announced that this registration fee will modernize operations and allow the agency to more efficiently process H-1B applications. The rule goes into effect on December 9,…
Reminder – End of Courtesy Premium Processing for Form I-539 filed with I-129 Petitions
USCIS’ previous practice of adjudicating the I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, filed with a qualifying I-129 petition under Premium Processing has ended. USCIS now requires every I-539 applicant pay a biometrics fee and an Application Support Center appointment take place to capture the applicant’s biometrics. This has led to I-539 applications taking substantially longer …
Alert! Premium Processing for FY 2020 Cap-Subject Petitions
Yesterday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced start dates for premium processing of fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions. USCIS will review premium processing requests in two phases. The first phase will process cap-subject petitions that request a change of status and the second phase will include all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions.…
Premium Processing of H-1Bs for Fiscal Year 2019
On January 25, 2019, USCIS announced that it would resume premium processing for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions on Monday, January 28, 2019. There is some confusion among employees and employers thinking that this applies to the upcoming H-1B season. Please note that the next H-1B cap season is fiscal year 2020,…
FY2020 H-1B Cap: Registration and Lottery Selection Update
Cap-subject US employers and their prospective employees alike have been waiting on edge to find out whether the FY2020 H-1B Cap Season would proceed as before or whether US Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS’s) recently proposed significant changes would be implemented to take effect before April 2019. The result: the Registration requirement will not take …
USCIS Reinstates Premium Processing for ALL H-1B Petitions
On October 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin accepting premium processing requests for all categories of H-1B petitions. In March 2017, USCIS had suspended the premium processing program for H-1B petitions, citing the need to reduce its overwhelming processing backlog. Over the past several months, USCIS phased…