Dear Readers:
NO SURPRISE . . . H-1B SEASON IS IN FULL
SWING! On April 1st 2007 U.S. employers
may start submitting new H-1B petitions
seeking an October 1st 2007 start date. There
is presently a 65,000 cap on the number of
H-1B petitions for Professional and Specialty
Occupation Workers with the equivalent of a
U.S. Bachelors Degree which may be approved
in a fiscal year. There is also a cap of
20,000 where a potential Professional and
Specialty Occupation Worker obtained a
Masters Degree from a U.S. institution of
higher education.
Fiscal year 2008 starts on October 1, 2007
and ends on September 30, 2008. Last year,
65,000 H-1B petitions were submitted to the
CIS by the end of May. The 20,000 cap was
reached in July. It is anticipated that the
cap may be reached for both H-1B categories
even sooner this year. We continue to
advise our clients to prepare H-1B petitions
for submission by not later than Monday,
April 2nd to ensure that their petitions are
filed in a timely manner.
To read recent CIS Guidance about H-1B
filing, click
here.
To read recent CIS Guidance about
logistical issues for H-1B submissions, click here.
As previously reported in our prior
VISASERVE.COM E-zines, not all H-1B petitions
are subject to numerical caps. When an
employee already possesses an approved H-1B
his/her petition for an extension of stay or
a change of employers is not subject to the
cap. Additionally, H-1B petitions submitted
by institutions of higher learning,
affiliated research organizations, nonprofit
research organizations, government research
organizations and for physicians with J
waivers are also not subject to the cap. For
more information about H-1B petitions, H-1B
processes or procedure please feel free to
e-mail us at info@visaserve.com.
Seizing upon a prime opportunity to
propose a bipartisan Comprehensive
Immigration Reform (“CIR”) bill, Reps.
Gutierrez (D-IL) and Flake (R-AZ) proposed
the Security Through Regularized Immigration,
on March 22nd, and a Vibrant Economy (“STRIVE
Act”) of 2007. Some of the provisions of this
bill include an increase to the H-1B cap,
increasing the number of employment and
family based visas and increasing U.S.
immigration enforcement. It is contemplated
that this bill will serve as a template to
advance political discussions about CIR in
the coming months.
To read a Brief Overview of the STRIVE Act
of 2007, click
here.
To read a Longer Summary of the STRIVE Act
of 2007, click
here.
For more information about The Strive Act
of 2007, please
feel free to e-mail to us at info@visaserve.com.
