H-1B Work Permit — CAP OPENS APRIL 1!

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B work permit petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010. Applications for U.S. work permits will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.
The numerical limitation on H-1B work visa petitions for the FY 2011 is 65,000. Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.

If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as
well as those received after the final receipt date.

As always, petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations. Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands are exempt from the cap until Dec. 31, 2014. Employers may continue to file petitions for these cap-exempt H-
1B categories seeking work dates starting in FY 2010 or 2011.

Please contact the U.S. Immigration Attorneys at the Bomza Law Group to discuss your options today!