H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a company to hire workers in specialty occupations. As an H-1B employer, you have to pay the H-1B employee the higher of either the actual or prevailing wage (this is called the…
Jenny ZhanJune 12, 2020
The E-3 and H-1B visas are similar but have some key differences. This post summarizes the key similarities and difference between the H-1B and E-3 visas. You can find out more about the E-3 visa by clicking here. You can…
Jenny ZhanJune 10, 2020
USCIS has announced today that they will resume premium processing for Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers in phases over the next month. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the concern…
Jenny ZhanMay 29, 2020
H-1B One of the H-1B requirements is that the petitioning U.S. company demonstrates that there is an Employer-Employee relationship. This means that the petitioning company will have to show that it can hire, pay, fire, supervise and otherwise control your…
Jenny ZhanMay 29, 2020
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a company to hire workers in specialty occupations. There are a limited number of H-1B petitions that USCIS can adjudicate every year (65,000 Regular Cap petitions and additional 20,000 U.S. Advanced Degree Petitions). Every…
Jenny ZhanApril 22, 2020
Federal judge Rudolph Contreras issued a ruling on three new court cases that USCIS has unlawfully denied H-1B petitions by improperly limiting the definition of a specialty occupation. If your employer wants to sponsor you for an H-1B visa, the…
Jenny ZhanApril 17, 2020
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a company to hire workers in specialty occupations. There are a limited number of H-1B petitions that USCIS can adjudicate every year (65,000 Regular Cap petitions and additional 20,000 U.S. Advanced…
Jenny ZhanApril 16, 2020
Covid-19 has changed the rules for travel, engagement and employment. Many companies have started to reduce wages and put staff on leave, and some companies have terminated employees. If your company filed an H-1B registration for a foreign national and…
Jenny ZhanApril 15, 2020
USCIS has announced on April 13 that due to the Coronavirus outbreak and for health and safety reasons, they will not begin to perform intake processing on selected FY 2021 H-1B cap cases until May 1, 2020. Only applicants who…
Jenny ZhanApril 14, 2020
Covid-19 has changed the rules for travel, engagement and employment. Many companies have started to reduce wages and put staff on leave, and some companies have terminated employees. If your company had to terminate employment of an H-1B employee, here is a…
Jenny ZhanApril 14, 2020
Covid-19 has changed the rules for travel, engagement and employment. Many companies have started to reduce wages and put staff on leave, and some companies have terminated employees. For companies with H-1B employees that are taking the approach of decreasing…
Jenny ZhanApril 9, 2020
Covid-19 has changed the rules for travel, engagement and employment. Many companies have started to reduce wages and put staff on leave, and some companies have terminated employees. If you are currently in the U.S. on an H-1B visa and…
Jenny ZhanApril 8, 2020
If you are currently in the U.S. on F-1 OPT status, your OPT work authorization expires soon, and your company filed an H-1B registration, you may be asking if you have to leave the U.S. immediately after your work authorization…
Jenny ZhanApril 7, 2020
USCIS announced today that H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2021 can now be filed. USCIS has already notified all selected applications of their selection status on or before March 31. Only applicants who have be selected in the lottery…
Jenny ZhanApril 1, 2020
The latest statistics released by USCIS shows that while there has been an increase in the issuance of Request for Further Evidence (“RFE”) in recent years across the board for all visa types, the overall approval rates still remains relatively…
Jenny ZhanMarch 27, 2020
USCIS has announced that they have received sufficient electronic registration during the initial registration period to complete the lottery for FY 2021. Petitioners with selected registrations will be notified no later than March 31, 2020. Only selected registrations may file…
Jenny ZhanMarch 27, 2020
Covid-19 has changed the rules for travel, engagement and employment. Many companies have already started to reduce wages and put staff on leave. Some companies have terminated employees. For companies that have employees in E-3 or H-1B status, they must…
Jenny ZhanMarch 26, 2020
USCIS has announced today, March 20, the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 and Form I-140 petitions until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak. Premium processing costs $1410 and guarantees that USCIS will…
Jenny ZhanMarch 20, 2020
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
We just had an H-1B approval through U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. The applicant was already in the U.S. on an H-1B and changed employers to work for a consumer goods company. Employees who are in the U.S. in H-1B…
Jenny ZhanMarch 19, 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
