Yesterday, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it immediately resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions, following a halt on the service for several months to allow USCIS to bring current applications that were then pending for extended durations. » Read More
Starting April 1, 2019, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept new H-1B Quota-Based Visa Petitions for the 2020 Fiscal Year, for an employment start date of October 1, 2019.
USCIS’ regular H-1B visa cap limits annual H-1B approvals to 65,000 visas, with an additional 20,000 H1-B visas for individuals who earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. » Read More
Proposed Budget Leaves Much Unanswered on Immigration
Congress released a proposed omnibus budget on Wednesday that addresses certain immigration issues but leaves many of the most important issues unaddressed.
What the Bill Does: In a compromise, the bill adds funding for an additional 328 Customs and Border Patrol Officers for border security, but at the same time, requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reduce the number of immigrants in detention facilities. » Read More
For the 5th consecutive year, the cap was reached in the first week for the H-1B visa, which is the prototypical visa for educated employees wishing to come to the U.S. to work in specialized jobs. In other words, there are 85,000 H-1B visas allowed each year, and the number of applications exceeded that amount in 5 days. » Read More
More companies are using the H-1B visa to hire and retain foreign workers. It allows workers to maintain their permanent residence outside the United States while continuing employment here. However, H-1B visas are capped at 65,000 per fiscal year, which makes them very competitive and difficult to secure. » Read More
