At noon EST on March 20, the initial registration period for FY 2021 H-1B lottery selection will close. All registrations must be properly submitted before this time in order to be considered in the initial selection. After registration closes, if…
Jenny ZhanMarch 20, 2020
If your employer wants to sponsor you for an H-1B visa, the job position must be a specialty occupation, meaning, that it requires a theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a bachelor’s…
Jenny ZhanMarch 16, 2020
There are certain specialty occupations that require the appropriate licensure in order to be able to perform the duties required on the job. For example, an attorney would need a license to practice law, an architect requires a license to…
Jenny ZhanMarch 16, 2020
The initial registration period for the FY2020 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern Standard Time on March 1 and run through noon EST on March 20. During this time, prospective petitioners and legal representatives will be able to fill…
Jenny ZhanFebruary 28, 2020
Starting this year, all prospective H-1B applicants must first be registered online on the USCIS myUSCIS website in order to be in the pool for the H-1B visa lottery. Online account creation is now available for prospective petitioners and legal…
Jenny ZhanFebruary 25, 2020
Let’s analyze the following scenario: You were in the U.S. on a post-completion OPT and found an employer willing to sponsor you for an H-1B visa. The employer filed an H-1B cap petition that got approved in July with the…
Jenny ZhanFebruary 24, 2020
On January 9, 2020, USCIS formally announced details of the new H-1B cap registration process for FY 2021. The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa suitable for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent and a job offer…
Jenny ZhanFebruary 3, 2020
On Thursday, USCIS has formally announced details of the H-1B cap registration process for FY 2021. Starting next year, employers will have to register each individual foreign national they would like to sponsor for the lottery first. Once registered, USCIS…
Jenny ZhanJanuary 10, 2020
H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a U.S. company to hire workers in specialty occupations. The H-1B visa may be granted for up to 6 years. We sometimes get the following question from potential clients: Company X sponsored…
Jenny ZhanDecember 20, 2019
USCIS has announced today that it has successfully completed the testing phase of the online registration system for the H-1B lottery. To learn more about the H-1B visa and your eligibility, please click here. The online registration process will be implemented…
Jenny ZhanDecember 9, 2019
An O-1 visas are for people with extraordinary ability in a number of fields (e.g. television, science, business, etc.) To learn more about O-1 visas, please click here. The bar for an O-1 visa is a high one and the…
Jenny ZhanDecember 2, 2019
Fees for Form I-907 Premium Processing will increase from the current $1410 to $1440 on December 2. Premium Processing Service means that USCIS will issue a decision (approval, denial, Request for Evidence, or Notice of Intent to deny) within 15…
Jenny ZhanNovember 21, 2019
H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a company to hire workers in specialty occupations. The beneficiary (the foreign worker) must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher. You can be granted H-1B status in the U.S. for a maximum…
Jenny ZhanNovember 19, 2019
USCIS has announced today that a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration submitted by petitioning employers will be implemented once the electronic registration system is in place. The registration system, which is slated to go into effect for fiscal…
Jenny ZhanNovember 7, 2019
If you are currently in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa, your spouse may be able to work in the U.S. This article will discuss which spouses of non-immigrant visa holders are/are not authorized to work in the U.S. This…
Jenny ZhanOctober 14, 2019
Let’s analyze the following scenario: You are in the U.S. on F-1 OPT status and you are working for an employer. During the cap season, your employer files an H-1B Cap Change of Status petition and the case is selected…
Jenny ZhanSeptember 30, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the proposed regulation to rescind the H-4 employment authorization program is not likely to be published until Spring 2020, and that even this estimate is “aspirational”. For more information please click here and here. This…
Jenny ZhanSeptember 20, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to terminate the H-4 employment authorization program is still under review with the Office of Management and Budget. DHS sent the proposed rule to the OMB for review in February. Typically, proposed rules clear…
Jenny ZhanSeptember 11, 2019
Today, the Department of Homeland Security has announced a proposed rule that will require employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitioners to pay a fee of $10 for each electronic registration submitted to USCIS. In the new proposed system, which…
Jenny ZhanSeptember 3, 2019
USCIS have finished returning unselected H-1B petitions that were not selected in the FY2020 cap lottery. Employers should receive petition packages and fee checks by August 29, 2019. This year, USCIS received 201,011 filings in the week between April 1…
Jenny ZhanAugust 16, 2019
USCIS announced that starting on June 10, 2019, it will accept premium processing requests for all remaining FY 2020 H-1B Cap cases. Premium processing costs $1410 and guarantees that USCIS will take adjudicative action on the application within 15 days. If USCIS…
Jenny ZhanJune 10, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security have submitted a proposal to charge an unknown amount of fee for companies registering foreign nationals for the upcoming H-1B cap online registration system. Starting next year, employers have to register each individual foreign national…
Jenny ZhanJune 3, 2019
Many employment based green card applications are processed while an applicant is on an H-1B visa. This usually involves filing an I-140 petition along with an I-485 petition. You can find out more about the green card process by clicking here.…
Jenny ZhanMay 21, 2019
USCIS has announced on May 17, 2019 that is has completed all data entry for fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject lottery selection. USCIS has also announced that this year, they have received 201,011 filings in the week between April 1…
Jenny ZhanMay 17, 2019
Starting on June 1, 2019, USCIS forms can no longer be requested on the phone. Previously, by calling USCIS’ client services, individuals can request application forms and instructions to be mailed to their address free of charge. The forms by mail service…
Jenny ZhanApril 22, 2019