Immigration Law

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR H-1B VISAS

By M&S Attorney

What are H-1B visas?

They are 3-year non-immigrant visas that allow professional workers to work for the petitioning employer in the U.S. in a job that requires a minimum of a Bachelor Degree (or its equivalent) in a specialized field.

What is the deadline about?

An H-1B petition must be filed on April 1 for employment starting October 1, 2008. If an employer misses the opportunity to petition for a prospective employee this year, the next time it can try to employ that person in H-1B status will be October 1, 2009.

H-1B Visas and the April 1- April 7 Deadline

H-1B visas are the most sought after employment based visas; however, each year the government issues only 65,000 such visas for qualified professionals worldwide despite a much greater demand. U.S. employers face a shortage in various "specialty" occupations. Last year, 124,000 H-1B petitions were received between April 1 and April 3, forcing Citizenship and Immigration Services to develop a lottery selection process to determine which petitions would be adjudicated. This year demand is expected to be so robust that the entire year's supply of H-1B visas were expected to be exhausted on April 1, i.e. the first day that petitions can be filed for the 2009 Fiscal Year. However, in interim rules released a few days ago the CIS established a five business day period for submissions to ease the management of such an extraordinary number of same-day filings. H-1B petitions received during that period will be treated as though received simultaneously. They will be pooled and then subject to random selection by lottery.

For a prospective employee to qualify for an H-1B, the petition and supporting documents must attest to a prospective job offer (full-time or part-time) at the prevailing wage for a position that in a "specialty" occupation, i.e. the duties of which cannot be performed without a bachelor's degree (or its equivalent) in a specific field.

H-1B petitions must be received by the Immigration and Citizenship Service begining on April 1 and no later than April 7. Because the number of petitions received will exceed the number of visas available, Citizenship and Immigration Services will randomly select approximately 65,000 of those received by lottery, and then it will reject and return the remaining petitions. If you miss this year's brief H-1B submission period, you miss a chance at this elusive visa and you will not be able to attempt again to work as an H-1B non-immigrant until the next Fiscal Year on October 1, 2009.

If you have any questions about H-1B visas or this year's deadline please do not hesitate to call 212-227-9390 or email us at info@Masliah-Soloway.com.

*This announcement is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Any person or employer seeking H-1B status should consult a qualified attorney.

Masliah & Soloway, PC
225 Broadway, Suite 1610
New York, NY 10007
212-227-9390
212-227-9564 (f)

www.masliah-soloway.com

Info@Masliah-Soloway.com

Full post as published by Masliah & Soloway on March 22, 2008 (boomark / email).