H-1B CAP — Blog — Nadia Yakoob & Associates

H-1B Lottery 2020: Looking Ahead

USCIS’s first ever electronic H-1B visa lottery process successfully took place this year despite significant concerns about the agency’s ability to implement and execute such an online tool. USCIS received nearly 275,000 registrations between March 1 and March 20, 2020. The number of registrations increased by nearly 30% this year (USCIS received 199,000 H-1B petitions in last year’s lottery), which is not surprising given the relative ease of the online registration process compared to the practice in previous years of filing complete H-1B petitions the first week of April.

Nadia YakoobApril 15, 2020H-1B Visa lottery, H-1B CAP, H-1B petition, H-1B news, Visa lottery, USCIS, Filing Deadline, June 30

USCIS Announces Final Changes to Annual H-1B Visa Lottery

USCIS confirmed this morning through publication of a final rule that it would change the order in which it runs the annual H-1B visa lottery to maximize selection of candidates with US Master's degrees.

H-1B, USCIS, NonimmigrantNadia YakoobJanuary 30, 2019USCIS, H-1B Visa lottery, H-1B, H-1B CAP, H-1B news

Premium Processing Becomes Available for Pending H-1B Cap Cases

USCIS announced today that premium processing will become available for pending H-1B cap cases as of Monday, January 28, 2019. Employers who have received requests for evidence (RFEs) for pending H-1B cap petitions should include their RFE reply with their request for premium processing.

USCIS Proposes Changes to Annual H-1B Visa Lottery

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just proposed two major changes to the H-1B visa lottery process, which takes place each year during the first week of April.

H-1B, Nonimmigrant, USCISNadia YakoobNovember 30, 2018H-1B CAP, international students, H-1B petition, USCIS, H-1B Visa lottery

USCIS Reaches H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2019

On April 6, 2018, USCIS announced it had reached the 65,000 H-1B visa cap and the 20,000 visa U.S. advanced degree exemption cap (the “Master’s cap”) for fiscal year 2019.

USCIS has not specified yet how many H-1B cap-subject petitions it received this year.

H-1B, USCISNadia YakoobApril 9, 2018immigration, H-1B, USCIS, H-1B CAP, legal, visa, immigrant, status

USCIS Suspends Premium Processing for H-1B Cap Cases

USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions effective April 2, 2018. This suspension is expected to last until Sept. 10, 2018. USCIS will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap, such as extensions and change of employer petitions.

USCIS, H-1BNadia YakoobMarch 21, 2018USCIS, immigration, immigrant, premium processing, H-1B CAP, H-1B, law firm, visa, green card, nonimmigrant, petition