Petitioners are Reminded to Follow Regulatory Requirements
WASHINGTON
– On April 1, 2015, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin
accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. U.S. businesses
use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require
highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and
computer programming.
The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2016
is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. master’s
degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap.
USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap
during the first five business days of this year’s program. The agency will
monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B
cap has been met. If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the
first five business days, the agency will use a lottery system to randomly
select the number of petitions required to meet the cap. USCIS will reject all
unselected petitions that are subject to the cap as well as any petitions received
after the cap has closed. USCIS used the lottery for the FY 2015 program
last April.
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions
H-1B petitioners may still continue to request premium
processing together with their H-1B petition. However, please note that USCIS
has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice based on
historic premium processing receipt levels and the possibility that the H-1B
cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing season. In order
to prioritize data entry for cap subject H-1B petitions, USCIS will begin
premium processing for H-1B cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing
no later than May 11, 2015.
Filing Petitions
H-1B petitioners are reminded that when the temporary
employment or training will be in different locations, the state where your
company or organization’s primary office is located will determine the
appropriate Service Center to which you should send your Form I-129
package, regardless of where in the United States the various worksites
are located. Please ensure that when temporary employment or training will be
in different locations, the address on page 1, part 1 of Form I-129 is for your
organization’s primary office. Please note that when listing a “home officeâ€
as a work site location on Part 5, question 3, USCIS will consider this a
separate and distinct work site location.
H-1B petitioners must follow all statutory and regulatory
requirements as they prepare petitions, in order to avoid delays in processing
and possible requests for evidence. USCIS has developed detailed information,
including an optional checklist, Form M-735, Optional Checklist for Form
I-129 H-1B Filings, on how to complete and submit an FY 2016 H-1B petition.
Cases will be considered accepted on the date USCIS takes
possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee. For more
information on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program and current Form I-129
processing times, visit the H-1B FY 2016 Cap Season Web page or call
the National Customer Service
Center
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov
