H-1B Visa News

Starting April 2, 2018, USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 cap. USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. This suspension is expected to last until Sept. 10, 2018. During this time, USCIS will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap.

The H-1B visa program generally allows a foreign employee to work for a specific sponsoring American employer. As is true in many employment situations, the location of work can change.

In a huge relief for Indian techies spooked over reports of the Trump administration considering a proposal to prevent the extension of H-1B visas, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it “is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States” reports The Indian Express.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted additional data about the agency’s employment-based visa programs on its website. This new information reflects USCIS’ commitment to transparency in carrying out President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order.

Datasets now available on the webpage include:

Release Date: Oct. 3, 2017

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing today for all H-1B visa extension of stay petitions. Premium processing is now available for all types of H-1B petitions. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing today for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year year (FY) 2018 cap. The FY 2018 cap has been set at 65,000 visas. Premium processing has also resumed for the annual 20,000 additional petitions that are set aside to hire workers with a U.S. master’s degree or higher educational degree.

The following Immigration Policy Memorandum is now available:

Definition of “Affiliate” or “Subsidiary” for Purposes of Determining the H-1B American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) Fee PM-602-0147 (PDF)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will resume premium processing for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions effective immediately. The H-1B visa has an annual cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year. Additionally, there is an annual “master’s cap” of 20,000 petitions filed for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.

Premium processing will resume for petitions that may be exempt from the cap if the H-1B petitioner is:

* An institution of higher education;

* A nonprofit related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education; or

USCIS announced on July 19, that it has returned all fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in our computer-generated random selection process.  USCIS previously announced on May 3, that it completed data entry of all selected cap-subject petitions. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that starting Monday, June 26, the agency will resume premium processing for all H-1B petitions filed for medical doctors under the Conrad 30 Waiver program, as well as interested government agency waivers.