Tag: Immigration

On May 17, 2019, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency completed data entry for the H-1B cap-subject petitions filed during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 filing period (April 1 to April 5, 2019).  USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected and will issue an announcement once notification of rejections has been completed. USCIS has indicated it cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions given the large volume of submissions.

What Employers Can Expect

Employers may expect to continue to receive receipts for selected cases over the next few weeks. Petitions that are not selected under the FY 2020 cap will be rejected by USCIS and returned with the government filing fees.   USCIS also advised that it  may transfer some H-1B cap-subject petitions between the Vermont Service Center and the California Service Center to balance case processing workloads and enhance efficiencies. If an H-1B cap case is selected and transferred to a different USCIS Service Center, USCIS will send notification of the transfer in the mail.

Premium Processing Service Availability Reminder

As previously announced, USCIS will take a two-tiered approach to implementing premium processing service for cap-subject H-1B petitions where the petitioner requests premium processing service on Form I-907.  For H-1B cap petitions filed with a change of status request , USCIS will notify the public as to the precise date that premium processing service for these petitions will commence (expected not later than May 20, 2019).  For H-1B cap petitions filed with a request for consular notification of approval,  USCIS has indicated that premium processing service for these petitions will not be available until at least June 2019.

Petitions Not Subject to the H-1B Cap

As a reminder, USCIS will continue to accept and process H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap.  These include filings for extensions of status, amended petitions, changes of employer, concurrent employment for existing H-1B workers, and petitions filed by organizations that are cap-exempt.

If you have any questions regarding this alert, please contact your designated Gibney representative, or email info@gibney.com.

On April 11, 2019, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the agency received 201,011 H-1B cap-subject petitions during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 filing period (April 1 to April 5, 2019). USCIS also announced that it conducted the random selection process for both the regular H-1B cap of 65,000 petitions, and the U.S. advanced degree H-1B cap of 20,000 petitions.

What Employers Can Expect

Employers may expect to receive receipts for selected cases over the next several weeks. USCIS will also announce when it will start Premium Processing for selected petitions (expected no later than May 20, 2019). If an H-1B cap-subject petition is not selected by the USCIS, the agency will reject and return all unselected petitions with the filing fees.

Petitions Not Subject to the H-1B Cap

USCIS will continue to accept and process H-1B petitions that are not subject to the cap. These include filings for extensions of status, amended petitions, changes of employer, concurrent employment for existing H-1B workers, and petitions filed by organizations that are cap-exempt.

On March 19, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will take a two-phased approach to premium processing for H-1B cap petitions when the FY 2020 filing period begins April 1, 2019. The first phase will include FY 2020 H-1B cap petitions requesting a change of status and the second phase will include all other FY 2020 H-1B cap petitions.

In the first phase, petitioners filing H-1B cap petitions with change of status requests may concurrently request premium processing service by filing Form I-907 when the H-1B cap petition is initially filed. While USCIS will not begin premium processing these petitions immediately, it will commence premium processing for these cases not later than May 20, 2019.  USCIS will notify the public as to the precise date that premium processing service for these petitions begins. Petitioners who file change of status H-1B cap petitions without concurrently filed premium processing requests will also have the option of interfiling premium processing requests once premium processing service for these petitions begins.

The second phase of premium processing will include all other FY 2020 H-1B cap petitions (i.e., all petitions that do not request a change of status on Form I-129).   USCIS indicates that premium processing for these petitions will not begin until at least June 2019. Once USCIS establishes the effective date for phase two, employers may interfile Form I-907 to request premium processing service for these H-1B cap petitions.  Employers may not request premium processing service for these cases until USCIS establishes the effective date.

As a reminder, at this time, premium processing is available for all non-cap subject H-1B petitions, such as extension of stay and change of employer requests.  See Gibney’s prior immigration alert on this topic.

New H-1B Data Hub

USCIS also announced that it will launch a new H-1B Employer Data Hub on April 1, 2019.  The data hub will allow the public to search for H-1B petitioners by fiscal year, NAICS industry code, company name, city, state and zip code. The hub is expected to give the public ability to calculate approval and denial rates, and to identify which employers are using the H-1B program.

For more information on the FY2020 H-1B cap program, visit the USCIS’s FY2020 H-1B Cap Season website.

If you have any questions about this alert, please contact your Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.

The general information provided herein is not intended to serve as a source of legal advice for any purpose. Please contact your designated Gibney representative or immigration counsel for specific legal advice.

On March 12, 2019, USCIS reinstated premium processing service for H-1B petitions. On March 13, USCIS clarified that the announcement was not specific to FY 2020 H-1B cap petitions, and that the government will address these filings in a separate announcement.

Last year, USCIS suspended premium processing service for FY 2019 H-1B cap petition in March 2018. It expanded the suspension to most other H-1B petitions in September 2018. Since January 2019, USCIS has re-introduced the benefit incrementally. H-1B petitioners may now request premium processing service for all pending and newly filed H-1B petitions by filing Form I-907 and paying a fee of $1410. USCIS will then adjudicate the petition within 15 days.

As noted, a separate announcement is expected for FY 2020 H-1B cap petitions that can be filed as of April 1, 2019. As a practical matter, employers intending to file H-1B cap petitions April 1 should explore filing strategies with Gibney.

If you have any questions about this alert, please contact your Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.

The general information provided herein is not intended to serve as a source of legal advice for any purpose. Please contact your designated Gibney representative or immigration counsel for specific legal advice.