• The White House fact sheet contains information on the USCIS current rule-making agenda on reform in employment-based immigration system. Below is the relevant part.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U. S. advanced degree exemption.

Before running a random selection process, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period which ended today. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date on which it will conduct the random selection process.

On April 1, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications for a competitive grant funding opportunity to promote immigrant civic integration and prepare permanent residents for citizenship. USCIS will offer up to $10 million in competitive funding for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.

This question is raised often and debated much amongst lawyers focusing their practice on employment-based immigration. This morning, I have a call scheduled with a corporate client who is considering the legality of accepting a volunteer in their for-profit IT business.

This checklist is optional to assist FY 2015 H-1B petioners submit an I-129 H-1B petiton. 

Please click on the attachment to view the checklist.

Release Date: March 25, 2014

Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions to Begin by April 28, 2014 

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2015 cap on April 1, 2014. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition with the correct fee. USCIS will not rely on the date that the petition is postmarked.