Start Preparing NOW for H-1B Season 
  
85,000 Visas to Become Available on April 1 for Certain Foreign Nationals With University Degrees or the Equivalent  
                                   

Is it your goal in 2016 to travel more?  Go to the gym three times per week? Spend more time with family and friends?  Whatever your new year resolutions are for 2016, we hope you are off to a great start in implementing them.  

But here's another resolution to consider:  
 
START PREPARING NOW FOR H-1B SEASON.
 
Here's why: 85,000 H-1B visas will be released on April 1 under the annual H-1B "cap" for the 2017 fiscal year.  

And there's work to do now to make sure a case is ready to file by April 1.   

Over the last several years the demand for H-1B visas has been high. As a result, USCIS has conducted a lottery of all H-1B petitions received in the first 5 business days in April to determine which cases will be accepted for processing.  Last year, there were approximately 300,000 H-1B petitions filed and therefore less than 30% were actually accepted for processing!
  
This year the demand for H-1B visas will likely be high again.  
 
Applicants who do not file their H-1B cases before the cap is reached and who are not accepted in an H-1B lottery will have their cases REJECTED.  To ensure your case has the best chance of being accepted for processing, it is critical to start the process ASAP.

The H-1B visa is for certain foreign nationals with university degrees (or the equivalent) who will be working in a "specialty occupation," i.e. a position that normally requires a degree.  Of the 85,000 H-1B visas available, 20,000 are designated for individuals with U.S. earned Master degrees.  
 
Click here to learn more about the H-1B visa.
 
Whether you are an employer or foreign national who may qualify for H-1B status, it is important to understand the importance of starting the process well in advance of April 1.
 
Feel free to contact our office at 786-406-1744 or [email protected] if you have any questions about the H-1B visa, or about immigration laws in general.



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Jacob L. Ratzan, P.A.
1450 Brickell Ave, Suite 2600  
Miami, FL 33131 
Tel: (786) 406-1744 
Fax: (786) 406-1745