U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will not extend the period in which it temporarily accepted H-1B petitions filed with uncertified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs).
Due to processing delays associated with Department of Labor’s (DOL) “iCERT” system, USCIS responded to requests from the public and temporarily allowed H-1B petitions to be filed with uncertified LCAs. This temporary measure went into effect on November 5, 2009 and expired on March 9, 2010.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.
If an H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B petitioner submits evidence establishing that the primary reason for failing to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request was due to the government shutdown, USCIS will consider the government shutdown as an extraordinary circumstance and excuse the late filing, if the petitioner meets all other applicable requirements.