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H-1B Cap Reached
On November 22, 2011, the annual quota of H-1B visas was reached. As a result, no new H-1B visas will be available until October 1, 2012. Applications for new H-1B visas can be filed beginning on April 1st. We encourage employers interested in sponsoring foreign workers for H-1B visa status to contact our office as soon as possible to discuss the application process.
As a reminder, the annual quota does not apply to individuals currently working in H-1B status in the U.S. who need to extend their stay or change employers, or to individuals seeking employment with institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, government research organizations and certain related entities.
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Congress On Verge of Redistributing Green Card Backlogs
Yesterday the House of Representatives overwhelmingly (389-15) passed the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which will eliminate the per-country limits on the number of green cards available to employment-based applicants following a three year transition. The Senate is expected to pass the bill as well.
Under the current system, 140,000 green cards are available each year for immigrants based on their job skills, with no country receiving more than 7 perfect of those visas. As a result, applicants from countries with high demand often have to wait years (if not decades) before a green card is available. Once the country cap has been eliminated, all employment-based green cards will be issued on a first come, first served basis. The primary beneficiaries of this change will be highly skilled immigrants from China and India, who currently face long delays before a green card can become available. It is unclear at this time how this will be phased in for Chinese and Indian nationals with currently pending green card applications.
The bill will also more than double the available number of family-based green cards by raising the country limit from 7 percent to 15 percent of the total 226,000 family-based green cards available. This will be especially beneficial for Mexican and Filipino applicants, as they face the longest waits in the family category.
However, since the legislation does not increase the number of green cards available each year, the backlogs will simply be redistributed, not eliminated.
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Advocacy Reminder
If you would like to see Congress increase the number of available green cards so that applicants will not have to wait more than 10 years to live or work in the U.S. on a permanent basis, or want to take action on a number of other important issues, we urge you to visit the website of the American Immigration Lawyers Association to make your voice heard. Simply follow these three steps: (1) go to www.aila.org; (2) on the left side of the page, select "Legislation"; and (3) scroll down and select "Contact Congress" (to send an email supporting or opposing a particular issue). Since the website is frequently updated to reflect newly proposed legislation and timely issues, we encourage you to visit often.
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