NEWS
H-1B
USCIS Launches H-1B Employer Data Hub
USCIS has launched an H-1B Employer Data Hub to provide information to the public on employers petitioning for H-1B workers. The data hub is part of their continued effort to increase transparency in employment-based visa programs by allowing the public to search for H-1B petitioners by fiscal year (back to FY 2009), NAICS [...]
DOL Issues Memo on Compliance with the H-1B Notice Requirement by Electronic Posting
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) reiterating employers' responsibilities under the H-1B visa program. The FAB confirms that if an H-1B employer chooses to provide notice through electronic media, the employer must ensure that affected American workers, including those employed by a third-party, have [...]
USCIS Announces FY 2020 H-1B Cap Season Start, Updates, and Changes
USCIS has announced the start of the FY 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2020 cap on [...]
USCIS Announces Resumption of Premium Processing for All H-1B Petitions
USCIS announced that it resumed premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, for all H-1B petitions. If an RFE (request for evidence) for a pending petition was received, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request.
USCIS publishes information on H-1B RFEs for FY2015–FY2019 and the Top 30 H-1B Employers of FY2018
USCIS provides data on H-1B RFEs from FY2015 through the first quarter of FY2019, as well as data on the top 30 employers with the most H-1B petition approvals in fiscal year 2018.
DOL Statistics on H-1Bs – First Quarter of FY2019
The DOL OFLC has released H-1B statistics as of 12/31/18. The data includes the number of LCAs received, top occupations, states, and employers, as well as the number of certified, denied, and withdrawn LCAs, number of positions requested and certified, and percentage of applications timely processed.
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions Filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018
USCIS announced late Friday (2/15/2019) that it would resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018. This means change of employer petitions filed after this date, or immediately will not benefit from the resumption of premium processing. The previously announced temporary suspension of [...]
USCIS to Publish Revised Form I-539 and New Form I-539A
USCIS has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on their website on March 11, 2019. Beginning March 11, 2019, USCIS will only accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of 02/04/19. They will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 [...]
H-1B CAP 2019 – Are You Ready?
Join us for a free webinar on February 22, 2019 12pm-1pm EST. Register Now The idea behind this webinar is to harness the valuable experience learned from processing H-1Bs from prior years and how various RFEs have created a valuable source of information on what the USCIS is looking for and how to [...]
DHS Announces Final Rule for a More Effective and Efficient H-1B Visa Program
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted today for public inspection, a final rule amending regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. The final rule reverses the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the advanced degree exemption, [...]
DHS Proposes Changes to the H-1B Visa Lottery Process
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has completed review of the H-1B proposed regulation as of January 25, 2019. It must be published in the Federal Register before the rule can go into effect. We will post any updates as soon as we receive them.
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B Cap Petitions
Alert: USCIS will resume premium processing on Monday, Jan. 28 for all fiscal year (FY) 2019 H-1B cap petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption (the “master’s cap”). The previously announced temporary suspension of premium processing remains in effect for all other categories of H-1B petitions to which it applied. We [...]
H-1B CAP & USCIS’ New Registration Process – What You Need to Know!
Introduction: On December 3, 2018, USCIS-DHS, published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to change the H-1B filing and random selection (read lottery) process. The new process will require employer’s to electronically register to file each prospective petition for their H-1B employees during the designated “registration period”. Prospective employees with a U.S. masters [...]
ALERT – LCA system Down
LCA and PERM Prevailing Wages Processing to Resume Tentatively at 2:00 p.m. EST on MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019 Last night, the DOL announced that: The iCERT system for application processing is tentatively scheduled to open at 2:00 p.m. EST on MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2019. The Department is currently testing the system to [...]
ALERT – LCA system Down – iCERT Portal System is currently unavailable
Updated January 3, 2019, 10:40 AM EST Within first five minutes of opening the semi-annual H-2B certification process on January 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor iCERT system had an unprecedented demand for H-2B certifications with more than 97,800 workers requested in pending applications for the 33,000 available visas. With more [...]
Update on USCIS Practice of Denying Pending Forms I-131 for Abandonment Due to International Travel
USCIS recently updated its website with information regarding the agency's practice of denying pending Form I-131 advance parole applications for abandonment due to international travel. Specifically, USCIS indicates on its website that if an applicant files Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, to request an advance parole document and departs the United States [...]
DHS Proposes Merit-Based Rule for More Effective and Efficient H-1B Visa Program
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first electronically register with USCIS during a designated registration period. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would also reverse the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap [...]
Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens
The Department of Homeland Security is proposing to amend its regulations governing petitions filed on behalf of H-1B beneficiaries who may be counted toward the 65,000 visa cap established under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“H-1B regular cap”) or beneficiaries with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education who are eligible for an [...]
New ETA Form 9035
The new ETA Form 9035, LCA for Non-immigrant Workers is now available. We are aware of the change and have implemented appropriate changes to our processing.