USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] announced the acceptation of H-1B petitions for the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap from the 1st of April 2010. The USCIS H1-B petitions acceptation date will be based on the day the USCIS receives properly filled H1-B petitions with the exact fee and not by the postmarked date.

The USCIS has cited 65000 as the fiscal year cap for the FY 2011. The first 20,000 H1-B petitions filed on behalf of the personnel who have earned a Masters degree or a higher degree in the U.S will be exempted from the H1-B petitions cap.

The date on which the USCIS receives the adequate number of H1-B petitions to meet numerical criteria of the H1-B petitions cap will be notified to the public. In-case adequate number of H1-B petitions is not there to reach the numerical limit; the USCIS will randomly select the H1-B petitions received on the final receipt date to reach the H1-B cap. The cap-subject H1-B petitions that are not accepted and the late entries that did not reach the USCIS on or before the final receipt date will be rejected by the USCIS.

The annual cap is exempted for new H1-B petitions for employment if individuals intend to work at institutions of higher education or allied non-profit entities, non-profit research organizations or government research organizations. Workers can continue to file petitions to come under the H1-B cap exemption categories while they search for work dates from FY 2010 to 2011.

The USCIS will continue the process involved with H-1B non-immigrant visa program petition with the forth mentioned criterion; H1-B workers who intend to extend the period of stay in the U.S., H1-B workers who intend to change their employment terms, H1-B workers who wish to change from their current employers or H1-B workers who aim to work in a second H1-B position simultaneously.

The USCIS has come forward with further information on the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) to those employers looking to file H-1B petitions. The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa which permits U.S. employers to temporarily recruit alien workers.

The EAWA has been brought into effect to make sure that those companies which receive financial support under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act do not remove U.S. workers from their concern. Under EAWA, any concern that has received covered funding for hiring H-1B employees is an “H-1B dependent employer”. While filing a Labor Condition Application (LCA), the EAWA puts forth employment and non-displacement constraints of U.S. workers. An H-1B dependent employer ought to make statements on them to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

Following the enactment of the EAWA, the USCIS has included a new question (A.1.d) to its Form I-129 to make out if the employer has received any covered funding. Those employers who have repaid their obligations might answer “No” to that question. To know if your obligations have been repaid, the Department of Treasury, or the Federal Reserve has to be contacted.

While the H-1B petition is filed with USCIS, a valid Labor Condition Application must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. If the LCA does not match up with the question A.1.d of the H-1B petition, it may lead to a delay or rejection in processing, unless the petitioner comes up with a convincing explanation about the discrepancy to the USCIS.

The H-1B dependent employer should note that the EAWA pertains only to hires taking place on or after Feb 17, 2009 and before Feb 17, 2011. It is not applicable to a petition which is applied to extend the H-1B status of a current employee with the same employer. Neither to a petition applied to change the status of a work-authorized employee to H-1B status.

The number of applicants for visas in the H-1B category for immigration to the United States has seen a sharp rise. Those who have a bachelor’s or an equivalent degree and wish to seek employment in the United States can apply for an H-1B visa.

Professionals such as scientists, management consultants, journalists, accountants, engineers, programmers, and research analysts can apply for visa in this category. In addition, famous fashion models are also eligible to apply for H-1B visa.

This visa is also suitable for aliens entering the United States to offer services related to cooperative research and development projects that are administered by the US Department of Defense. Professional nurses who want to enter the United States to perform complex duties or to supervise nursing operations also are eligible to apply for employment visa in this category.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has recently updated the number of H-1B petitions received for the fiscal year 2010. It reveals an increase in the number of petitions received for H-1B visas for the year 2010. USCIS received around a thousand H-1B petitions for visa in just one week. It has received nearly 58,900 visa applications for the H-1B category as of November 27, 2009.

The US immigration service has approved an adequate number of H-1B petitions for foreigners who have advanced degrees to meet the exemption number of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. If any H-1B petitions are filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree, then those visa applications will now be counted towards the general H-1B cap of 65,000.

USCIS will continue to accept both cap subject and advanced degree petitions till it reaches the statutory limit. The number of petitions that are denied, revoked, or withdrawn will also be taken into account while calculating the total number of petitions.