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Getting Ready for H-1B Season
Now that 2013 is upon us, the time has come for business owners to begin evaluating their need for H-1B employees. Most employers who have workers on H-1B visas are familiar with the H-1B Cap.
New ("cap-subject") applicants for H-1B visas are issued one of a limited number of H-1B visas authorized yearly by Congress. Every year, only 85,000 H-1B visas are available to foreign nationals who wish to work in the United States.
Due to the limited number of visas available, and the high demand, USCIS only accepts H-1B petitions for "cap-subject" workers for a limited period of time each year, beginning on the first business day in April.
Last year, over 93,000 petitions were submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, and the CIS stopped accepting "cap-subject" petitions on June 11, 2012.
The other consequence of this timing restriction is that the beneficiaries of "cap-subject" petitions cannot begin working until October 1 at the earliest. This leaves the employer with a six-month gap between hiring and the date the employee can actually begin work.
In fact, in 2012 this gap was even longer for many employers, as the CIS experienced severe processing delays leaving some applications still pending in December.
Evaluating your need for H-1B employees and initiating their H-1B applications early in the year is a smart move for employers because it maximizes the chances that your petitions will be accepted for processing and approved in a timely manner.
Please feel free to reach our VA office at 804-360-8482 or our NC office at 919-380-4044 for more information. You can also reach us via email at info@challalaw.com or reach your attorney/paralegal directly.
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