The H-1B season for Fiscal Year 2020 has officially come to a close. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun the process of returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the H-1B lottery for fiscal year 2020. As you may recall, the H-1B lottery…
New Zealand Now Eligible to Apply for E-1 and E-2 Investor Visas Beginning June 10, 2019, New Zealand nationals can apply for the E visa categories thanks to the President’s enactment of the Knowledgeable Innovators and Worthy Investors (KIWI) Act. Applicants who are already in the United States on a…
It is that time of the week again! In this post, we bring you the latest immigration news from USCIS. Texas Service Center Will Begin Processing Certain Cap-Exempt H-1B Petitions On May 20, 2019, USCIS announced that the Texas Service Center will begin processing certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions filed on…
USCIS announced today May 17, 2019, that the agency has completed data entry for all H-1B petitions selected for fiscal year 2020, including petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. USCIS will now begin the long process of returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the…
Great news! Our office has begun to receive our first I-797 receipt notices in the mail for petitions that were filed with premium processing in the lottery. So far, our office has received four such receipt notices for individuals who filed under the advanced degree exemption. All four of these…
Exciting news H-1B FY 2020 Filers! Yesterday USCIS announced that on April 10, 2019, the computer-generated lottery was conducted to select enough petitions to meet the H-1B regular cap and the U.S. advanced degree exemption for fiscal year 2020. In accordance with the new H-1B regulation, USCIS first conducted the selection…
On April 5, 2019, USCIS announced that it received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap for fiscal year 2020. As expected, the Regular cap (Bachelor’s cap) was reached within the first five business days of the FY 2020 application cycle.…
Today, USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2020 cap. Any FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions filed before April 1st will be rejected. Beginning today, 65,000 H-1B visas will be available for the regular cap, and 20,000 H-1B visas for advanced degree holders. Selection Important changes will…
It is an exciting and busy time at the Sapochnick Law Firm! Our Firm is gearing up for the long awaited H-1B season to kick off on Monday, April 1, 2019. To help you put your best foot forward, we are sharing the ultimate running checklist for H-1B- cap-subject petitions.…
As a reminder, we would like to inform our readers that USCIS has published a revised Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Beginning March 21, 2019, after close of business, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier. Applicants must send revised…