11/12/2021 Update: On November 12, 2021, USCIS released a confirming policy memo and corresponding policy manual changes that, in addition to the H-4 and L-2 changes discussed below, also includes automatic extensions of work authorization for E spouses (including...
On July 29, 2021, USCIS announced that it ran a second H-1B lottery on 2021 (FY 2022) registrations. Attorney accounts were locked for several hours but we are now able to access accounts and will be notifying clients of additional selections and next steps for...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 30, 2021 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H-1B visa “cap” for fiscal year (FY) 2022. The USCIS announcement states:We randomly selected from...
Last updated: 02/05/2021On February 4, 2021, USCIS announced that the upcoming H-1B cap registration selection process will be via random lottery, as in prior years. USCIS had previously announced a wage-based selection process. Today’s announcement stated that “to...
On October 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would change the way cap-subject H-1B petitions are processed. The announced change would, in years when demand for new H-1B visas exceeds the annual...
December 7, 2020 update:On December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California set aside the wage change rule, requiring USCIS and the Department of Labor to revert back to the previous prevailing wage system. Original Post:U.S....
On May 29, 2020, USCIS announced that it would resume its Premium Processing Service (“PPS”) in these stages throughout the month of June:
June 1, 2020: all eligible I-140 petitions
June 8, 2020: I-129 petitions that were filed/receipted before June 8, excluding H-1B “cap” cases (i.e., PPS “upgrades” will be available for non-H “cap” cases filed/receipted before June 8)
June 15, 2020: concurrent filings for H-1B cap-exempt filings
June 22, 2020: H-1B “cap” filings and cases filed/receipted after June 8
These dates are subject to change.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 27, 2020 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H-1B visa “cap” for fiscal year (FY) 2021. The USCIS announcement states “[w]e randomly selected from...
Updated March 23, 2020:On March 20, 2020, USCIS announced that Premium Processing Service is temporarily suspended for all I-129 and I-140 petitions, not just for H-1B cap cases. Cases that were already filed and accepted with Premium Processing Service will be...
