Just only about another month left to prepare for the 2017 fiscal year H-1B visa filing.

Starting on April 1, 2016 and only for the first 5 business days in April, USCIS will accept applications for the H-1B visa. 65,000 visas are allotted for those in specialty occupations that require a Bachelor’s degree or higher, and an additional cap of 20,000 visas are set aside for individuals who have earned a Master’s degree or higher from a qualifying U.S. institution.

Last year, over 230,000 H-1B petitions were received for the only 85,000 H-1B cap-subject visas available.  This resulted in a lottery where less that 30% of the petitions were randomly chosen.  A similar situation is expected this year, so it is most important that the H-1B petitions are in perfect order and ready for delivery to USCIS on April 1st.

What can you do to increase your chances to get the visa?

1. Know whether or not you even qualify

The H-1B visa is meant for those with U.S. job offers in “specialty occupations,” i.e., that require at least a Bachelor’s degree to undertake. Read more...

2. Are you cap-exempt?

If you were the beneficiary of a cap-subject H-1B petition within the past 6 years, you are probably cap-exempt.  Also, if you are seeking an extension of your H-1B status or are changing cap-subject H-1B employers, you are cap-exempt.

 3. Is your employer cap-exempt?

Certain employers, including universities and nonprofit and government research institutions, are not subject to either H-1B cap.  They can submit H-1B petitions all year long. By example, you are exempt from the H-1B cap if you work “at” a university.  You are not required to work “for” the university, but simply “at” the university even if you work for a private employer. Non-profit organizations which are “affiliated with” or “related to” a university are also cap-exempt.  So are governmental and nonprofit research institutions.

4. Do you qualify for the Master’s cap?

If you have an advanced degree from a university in the United States, you probably qualify for the Master’s cap.  20,000 of the 85,000 H-1B petition approvals are reserved for you and you will have a better chance of being selected, as, just in case you were not selected for the Master’s cap lottery, your petition will be still included in the general H-1B lottery.  However, if the institution of higher education that issued the degree is private and/or for-profit, you might not qualify for the Master’s cap. These issues can often involve nuanced and complex evaluations that might best be addressed by an experienced immigration attorney.

5. Avoid any errors and make sure the petition is bullet proof

It is critical that the petition be submitted without any errors that might cause USCIS to reject it from participation in the H-1B lottery.  Common mistakes made in H-1B filings are often seemingly small, clerical, or technical errors – but such errors can be disastrous – causing USCIS to reject the petition all together.  For instance, a missing signature, a wrong checked box, an incorrectly dated filing fee check, etc. Having your petition rejected due to oversight—or for any reason—can be fatal, as the H-1B filing window is only guaranteed to be open for five business days and by the time you receive the rejected petition back from USCIS, it will likely be too late to re-file, and thus your petition will miss its chance to be selected in this year’s H-1B lottery.  Therefore, early preparation and attention to detail are essential for successfully securing your place in the H-1B lottery.

6. Be on time

Every year, we submit our H-1B petitions to the USCIS, by overnight FedEx, on March 31^st.   If more than the 65,000 (85,000) are received by USCIS on April 1^st, only a 5 business day window is guaranteed during which the agency agreed to accept petitions after April 1, 2015.

In addition, please know there are a few steps to be taken before an application can be filed on April 1, 2015 that in turn take time to prepare, such as a Degree Equivalency Evaluation, a Prevailing Wage Determination and the approval of a Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the US Department of Labor, so leave enough time to prepare the filing.

 7. Choose an Attorney With Experience and Expertise

Immigration law may sound like a very narrow discipline, but some immigration attorneys specialize in defending clients in deportation proceedings while others specialize in helping persons apply for asylum or in obtaining green cards through family members.

We have years of experience and expertise in H-1B filings and welcome your inquiry.

If you have any questions about the H-1B cap system, the H-1B lottery, or the H-1B petition process in general and consider filing an application, please don’t hesitate to contact us.