Siskind Susser is excited to announce that Lynn Susser was recently elected to ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers. ABIL is comprised of over 20 lawyers from top tier immigration practices with years of expertise and a comprehensive understanding of immigration law. For more information on ABIL, including a map of ABIL attorneys worldwide, visit their website at www.abil.com.
The following articles are excerpts from ABIL’s monthly Immigration Insider, available here on their website.
USCIS Will Accept H-1B Petitions for FY 2016 Beginning April 1, 2015
On April 1, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering, and computer programming.
The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2016 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap.
USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap during the first five business days of this year’s program. The agency will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B cap has been met. If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the first five business days, the agency will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to meet the cap. USCIS will reject all unselected petitions that are subject to the cap as well as any petitions received after the cap has closed. USCIS used the lottery for the FY 2015 program last April.
Premium processing for cap-subject petitions. H-1B petitioners may still continue to request premium processing together with their H-1B petition. However, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice based on historic premium processing receipt levels and the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing season. To prioritize data entry for cap-subject H-1B petitions, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing by May 11, 2015.
- USCIS reminds H-1B petitioners that when the temporary employment or training will be in different locations, the state where the company or organization’s primary office is located will determine the appropriate Service Center to which petitioners should send the Form I-129 package, regardless of where in the United States the various worksites are located. When temporary employment or training will be in different locations, the address on page 1, Part 1 of Form I-129 is for the organization’s primary office. When listing a “home office” as a work site location on Part 5, question 3, USCIS will consider this a separate and distinct work site location.
Cases will be considered accepted on the date USCIS “takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee.”
The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) recommends filing during the first five business days in April. Contact your ABIL member for help with H-1B applications.
The USCIS announcement is available at http://www.uscis.gov/news/uscis-will-accept-h-1b-petitions-fiscal-year-2016-beginning-april-1-2015. USCIS has released an optional checklist for I-129 H-1B filings, available at http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/m-735.pdf. USCIS encourages H-1B applicants to subscribe to the H-1B Cap Season email updates at http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/h-1b-fiscal-year-fy-2016-cap-season.
China EB-3 Visa Category Retrogresses Nearly 10 Months
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for April 2015 notes that continued heavy demand by applicants with very early priority dates has required a retrogression of the cut-off date for the China EB-3 visa category for the month of April, to January 1, 2011, to hold number use within the annual numerical limit. The Visa Office advanced the China EB-3 visa category very rapidly during the past seven months, in an attempt to generate demand to ensure that all numbers under the annual limit could be made available.
Potential forward movement of this cut-off date during the remainder of the fiscal year will depend on the demand received for applicants with very early priority dates.
The bulletin is available at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-april-2015.html.
China EB-5 Visa Category To Retrogress by June; Two-Year Backlog Expected
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for April 2015 notes that continued heavy demand by EB-5 immigrant investor applicants will require a retrogression of the cut-off date for the China EB-5 visa category by June 2015 to hold number use within the annual numerical limit. Informed sources predict that the initial retrogression is expected to be about two years.
The bulletin is available at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-april-2015.html.
This newsletter was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (www.abil.com), of which Lynn Susser is an active member.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.