The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is changing the way the annual H-1B lottery is conducted so that priority is given to registrations with the highest wage level. This final rule will be published on January 8 (tomorrow), and take effect 60 days thereafter on March 9, 2021.
Read MoreIn yet another attempt to restrict the H-1B visa program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it plans to change the process by which the annual H-1B lottery is conducted so that priority is given to registrations with the highest wage levels.
Read MoreUSCIS started selecting additional H-1B lottery registrations this week from the registrations that were not selected in March 2020. The newly selected registrations have notices that say “August 2020 Selection of Reserve Registration” and indicate a filing period of 8/17/2020 – 11/16/2020.
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.
Read MoreUSCIS announced last night that premium processing will not be available for most H-1B petitions selected in this year’s lottery until June 29, 2020 (at the earliest). However, H-1B petitions filed on behalf of international students (F-1) seeking a change of status to H-1B may request premium processing by May 27, 2020.
Read MoreUSCIS 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.
Read MoreUSCIS 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.
Read MoreU.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.
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