H1B VISA FILING PERIOD BEGINS 4/1/07
AND QUOTA ISSUES ANTICIPATED
The H1b Visa is the primary visa by which
companies can employ foreign nationals in the
United States. Quota restraints last year made
this visa unavailable for new applicants for
over one year. Issues with the quota
have occurred in previous years as well and the
continued demand for foreign workers in the US
means that employers will almost certainly be
dealing with quota issues for the 2008 Fiscal
Year as well.
The H1b filing period for the 2008 Fiscal Year
begins on 4/1/07. The US Citizenship &
Immigration Service's (CIS) 2008 Fiscal Year runs
from 10/1/07 - 9/30/08 but applications can be
filed up to six months before the start of the new
fiscal year requesting employment beginning
10/1/07. As most of you will recall, the 2007 Fiscal Year
(10/1/06-9/30/07) quota was met approximately six
weeks after the filing period opened (5/26/2006) and the
2006
Fiscal Year (10/1/05-9/30/06) quota was met in
10/05.
As a result, we are strongly urging all clients to
review their staffing needs for the next year and
to make preparations to add any non-quota
exempt H1b staff as
early as possible due to the H1b quota
restraints. It is highly recommended that filings occur on
or immediately after 4/1/07---so please contact our office
immediately if you anticipate the need for any new H1bs
during this next fiscal year period.
INFINITI LAW H1B NEWS WEBPAGE (http://www.infinitilaw.com/immigrationnews/h1bnews.html)
Updates on the H1b situation will be available on our
website on the H1b News page. If you have any
questions, please feel free to
call me at (415)874-3540 or email me at
cdanielsson@infinitilaw.com .
Sincerely,
Charlotte Danielsson, Esq
Infiniti Law
phone:
(415)874-3540
