(Editor’s note/Erratum: In the May 23 weekend issue of the Los Angeles Asian Journal, Atty. Joel Bander’s article, "H1-B Visas Still Available," was erroneously placed in Atty. Daniel Hanlon’s column. The Asian Journal deeply regrets this error and apologizes for any inconvenience that this unintended mistake has caused Atty. Bander and Atty. Hanlon. To make up for the misprint and correct the error, we are republishing Atty. Bander’s column.)
THE US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 18, 2009 that it will continue to accept H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010. USCIS has only received approximately 45,500 petitions counting toward the general 65,000 cap and approximately 20,000 petitions for the 20,000 cap for aliens with advanced degrees.
This turnout contrasts with our experience in 2007 and 2008, when USCIS was immediately swamped with more petitions than visa numbers available on the first two days of the filing season beginning April 1. During those years, USCIS conducted lottery and rejected thousands of applications that were not fortunate enough to be selected in the lottery. While many still expect USCIS to reach its ceiling this year, the question is whether USCIS will still conduct lottery once the ceiling has been reached.
Last year, USCIS issued a regulation allowing a minimum window of five business days for USCIS to receive H-1B cap-subject cases and thereafter, run a random lottery selection to determine which cases filed within this window will be eligible for a cap number. This is due to the excessive number of petitions received. However, for this year, the general cap has not been met during the five-day window, giving rise to the speculation that no general lottery will be conducted. Some predict a "mini lottery" for cases filed after the five-day window if the number of additional filings exceeds the remainder of the cap. Until USCIS makes an announcement, it is not certain how the selection will be made.
One thing is certain, though. Those who failed to beat the April 1 rush can still file their petition and hope to be selected for processing. They still have time, but must act NOW.
Contact Bander Law Firm now to know if H-1B is an appropriate visa petition for you. H-1B is a temporary work visa for individuals with a bachelor’s or higher degree to be employed in a professional occupation. The petition must be filed by a US employer on behalf of a foreign beneficiary. If the beneficiary is presently in the United States as a nonimmigrant, he must be in valid status to apply for a change of status. The petition may also be filed for a beneficiary outside the United States, in which case, the visa will be applied for and issued in the US consulate in the beneficiary’s home country.
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Bander Law Firm, LLP has been providing immigration services for over 15 years and has multilingual staff. Feel free to call Bander Law Firm, LLP at 213-873-4333 to schedule your consultation regarding your legal concerns. Bander Law Firm provides a full range of legal services in the fields of Immigration, Mortgage Litigation, Personal Injury, Bankruptcy, Criminal and Removal Defense, Civil and Business Litigation, Wage and Hour Litigation and Class Action lawsuits.
Bander Law Firm, LLP Downtown office address: 1055 W. 7th Street, Suite 1950, Los Angeles, CA, 90017. Tel: (213) 873–4333 Fax: (213) 873–4334. San Gabriel Office address: 1045 E. Valley Blvd., #A215, San Gabriel, CA 91776. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
( Published on May 30, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C3 )
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