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Introduction

Workers in H-1B and H-2B classifications who are admitted to perform labor and services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam are exempt from the H-1B cap and H-2B cap from November 28, 2009 to December 31, 2014.  The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229, provides a special exemption to the statutory numerical limitations (or “caps”) for temporary workers in H nonimmigrant classifications mentioned in Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides additional guidance regarding the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) to employers seeking to file H-1B petitions. 

USCIS issues memo to provided guidance on the processing and adjudicating of Form I-129 filed on behalf of H-1B "specialty occupation" and H-2B "temporary nonagricultural" workers.

USCIS issues memo to provided guidance on the processing and adjudicating of Form I-129 filed on behalf of H-1B "specialty occupation" and H-2B "temporary nonagricultural" workers.

The H-1B Program

Be advised: Premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions will begin on April 15, 2013. See the Premium Processing section for more details.

The filing period for H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2014 numerical cap begins on April 1, 2013. USCIS anticipates that it may receive more than 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions and more than 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher between April 1, 2013, and April 5, 2013. This could be the first time since April 2008 that the H-1B cap will require a lottery. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.