The Latest Announcement Regarding The H-1B Visa (Good News!)
To Our Valued Clients and Friends:
As reported on Tuesday, under intense pressure from the business and technology communities, the Trump administration now appears to be backing away from a policy change that could have forced foreign tech workers and other H-1B visa holders out of the U.S.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said it was still conducting a thorough review of worker visa programs. But, the agency has now reversed course on that proposal after a report over New Year’s weekend that the agency was weighing a specific policy shift that would prevent foreign tech industry workers from keeping their visas longer than six years. This is very good news for our H-1B visa holders!
According to Jonathan Withington, chief of media relations for USCIS, “The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programs. . . What we can say, however, is that USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing our interpretation of section 104(c) of AC-21, which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit. Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead.”
Re: H-1B Season Has Now Begun For Fiscal Year 2019
If you are thinking of filing for an H-1B working visa now is definitely the time to begin the process since you have to be “in it to win it.” With over 30 years’ experience and having achieved tremendous success for our clients, we are fully equipped to provide you with the best legal representation throughout the entire United States since immigration is national in scope. We have a large staff of very experienced lawyers and paralegals all of whom are committed to achieving the finest possible results for our clients. In fact, we treat all of our clients like family! Each application is thoroughly analyzed and properly crafted to insure that it is strong and formidable in light of recent USCIS policy. In this current climate, you simply can’t afford to take chances with an inexperienced lawyer or law firm that does not concentrate in immigration, especially with the administration’s “Buy American Hire American” policy which has been affecting current adjudications.
Background – The H-1B is the basic “working visa” for foreign nationals holding either a U.S. bachelor’s degree or the equivalent thereof. The H-1B bachelor’s cap consists of 65,000 visas and the advanced degree or master’s quota consists of 20,000 visas. Out of the 85,000 quota visas, 6,800 visas are set aside for citizens of Singapore and Chile as part of the free trade agreement.
Typically, USCIS accepts H-1B petitions for the upcoming fiscal year (October 1, 2019) starting from April 1st. However, for FY 2019 season, April 1st falls on a Sunday. Hence, USCIS will only accept applications from Monday, April 2nd, 2018, to April 6, 2018. USCIS operates on a fiscal year which runs from October 1st to September 30th.
As in the past five (5) years, it is anticipated that USCIS will conduct a random lottery. Despite many rumors with regard to drastic changes to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa category, the basic requirements and eligibility remain the same. Do not be discouraged by unreliable new reports or proposals being circulated in Congress about changes to the H-1B program. As of now, the regulations are unchanged.
Please note that, now more than ever, it takes considerable time to draft and file a strong H-1B petition – especially in view of the recent USCIS pushback on H-1’s. Also, it is not uncommon for the U.S. Department of Labor, which is involved in the H-1B process, to experience delays and problems in processing the required prevailing wage request.
We strongly urge you to act now and not to wait. Please contact us to arrange a consultation, either in our office or by phone or Skype. There is no substitute for experience! We have maintained a very high success rate for our H-1B petitions, even with the Service’s higher rate of Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny/Revoke. We have created an elite strike force of Power Lawyers – as opposed to other law firms who rely on less experienced paralegals. Our “secret sauce” is simply hard work and a never ending desire to win! Nawlaw is a world class law firm providing a powerful combination of precision legal service, tremendous expertise and affordability. We are Immigrationologists!