Articles Posted in H-1B Alternatives

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the end of the selection process for the H-1B Visa Lottery for fiscal year 2024. If you were not selected in the lottery but would like to know more about your immigration options, then this is the right video for you.

Did you Know? The H-1B visa program allows American companies and/or organizations to employ foreign workers who possess both a theoretical or practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, for a temporary period of time. A congressionally mandated cap limits the number of new H-1B visas that can be issued to 65,000 per year, and 20,000 for those who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher.

Overview

On March 27, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it received enough electronic registrations to reach the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2024. After the registration period closed on March 17th, USCIS completed a randomized lottery from among registrations submitted, to select qualifying petitions for the 65,000/20,000 H-1B regular visa cap and advanced degree exemption.

Registrants who were selected were notified via email or text message stating that an action was taken on their myUSCIS online account. Account holders could then log in to see the full notice and determine whether they were selected to file paper applications with USCIS.

The period for filing a paper H-1B cap-subject petition with USCIS will be at least 90 days. USCIS began accepting H-1B submissions from selected registrants (Form I-129 with supporting documentation) beginning April 1, 2023.

USCIS has not yet disclosed whether they will conduct additional randomized lotteries to fill the H-1B visa cap. In previous years, additional lotteries have sometimes taken place, where USCIS has determined that it has not received sufficient mail-in applications to fill the H-1B visa cap by June 30, 2023. Historically, second randomized lotteries (if any) have occurred during the month of July, with accountholders being notified in the month of August.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the recent collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, and its repercussions on the startup world and foreign tech workers. The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is cited as the largest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The bank was once responsible for managing billions of dollars in client funds and loans. What will be the ripple effect of its collapse on immigrant and non-immigrant tech workers on visas?

Keep on watching to find out more.

Overview

Silicon Valley Bank, an institution that once lent billions of dollars in funding to tech startups has collapsed. Its deep relationships within the startup community have left both immigrant and non-immigrant workers vulnerable, as they scramble to find stable ground. The impact of its collapse has been widespread. Hundreds of startups relied on the funding provided by SVB to maintain their operations and keep immigrant and non-immigrant visa workers on payroll. Additionally, SVB itself employed dozens of foreign tech workers.

When news broke of the bank’s collapse, many startups withdrew their funds from the bank and began to question the security of the banking system as a whole. SVB’s collapse may be a signal that something worse is on the horizon, which may lead tech companies to freeze hiring and potentially lay off workers many of which are in the United States on visas.

As a foreign worker, losing a job is not just losing a paycheck. It means your legal status in the United States could ultimately be put in jeopardy. Workers who have been laid off will be forced to find a new employer within 60 days, or risk having to depart the United States.

In recent months, we began to see massive layoffs throughout Silicon Valley including those at Twitter, Meta, Facebook, and Google. Now the bank’s collapse could set in motion an extensive hiring freeze and a shrinking workforce in the months ahead. This is surely unwelcome news for tech workers currently in the United States on H-1B visas. The climate of uncertainty and panic caused by the bank’s collapse, could leave employers with cold feet when it comes to sponsoring workers for employment-based green cards.

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In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick tells you everything you need to know about the H-1B visa cap season for fiscal year 2024. We have been receiving questions from our followers regarding the application process and upcoming deadlines that applicants should be aware of.

In this post, we cover what the H-1B visa program is, why there is an annual cap on the number of H-1B visas available each year, and everything you need to know about the H-1B visa application process in 2023.

Overview

What is the H-1B Visa Program?

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers with specialized skills to work in the United States for a specific period of time. Generally, the job being offered by the U.S. employer must (1) require a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent (2) the degree should be common to the industry (3) and the duties required should be so specialized or complex that the knowledge required to perform them is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor’s or its equivalent.

Professionals with job offers in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) are the most common applicants for H-1B visas, although other fields may also qualify for the H-1B visa, such as finance, architecture, accounting, health, education, social sciences, physical sciences, medicine, among others.

Professionals who do not possess a bachelor’s degree or higher, but have at least 12 years of relevant experience, may still qualify for the H-1B visa without having a bachelor’s degree.

Once approved, an H-1B visa is valid for an initial period of 3 years and can be extended for an additional 3 years for a maximum period of 6 years in H-1B visa status. Thereafter, employers may sponsor workers for a green card.

Why is there a numerical cap on H-1B visas?

One of the drawbacks of the H-1B visa is that there is an annual numerical limit (cap) to the number of visas that can be issued each year. The annual cap for the H-1B visa program which has been set by Congress is 65,000 visas each fiscal year. An additional 20,000 petitions are set aside for beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education.

H-1B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher education or its affiliated or related nonprofit entities, a nonprofit research organization, or a government research organization, are not subject to the H-1B numerical cap.

In order to select enough petitions to meet the H-1B numerical cap of 85,000 visas per fiscal year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a visa lottery, selecting from properly submitted electronic registrations to fill the cap.

Historically, competition for the H-1B visa is very strong. As an example, in FY 2022 U.S. employers submitted roughly 308,613 H-1B registrations, and by 2023 this figure increased to 483,927 registrations.

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In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses a very hot topic in the world of immigration—the H-1B visa lottery program. Learn how you can increase your chances of winning the H-1B visa lottery for the fiscal year 2024 cap in this video.

Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap will open starting at noon Eastern time on March 1st and close noon Eastern time on March 17th.

The H-1B season is always an exciting time that gives you the chance of being selected in the lottery and the opportunity to live and work in the United States.

If you want to know more just keep on watching.

Did you know? The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The most common occupations for the H-1B visa are the STEM occupations. Every fiscal year, USCIS is limited to a congressionally mandated visa quota of 65,000 cap-subject H-1B visas. Separately, 20,000 H-1B visas are available for foreign nationals who hold a master’s or other advanced degree from a US institution of higher education (cap-exempt).

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick gives you the latest immigration update regarding President Biden’s plans to reverse Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052 passed under former President Donald Trump.

Want to know more? Keep on watching for more information.

Overview

First, let’s recap Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052. What are these Proclamations all about?

Presidential Proclamation 10014

Back in April of 2020, former President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 10014 which imposed a 60-day ban on the issuance of visas at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad and limited the entry of certain aliens.

Among those impacted were the following classes of immigrants applying for a visa at a United States Consulate or Embassy abroad from April 23, 2020 to the present:

  • Spouses and children of green card holders (US citizens were not affected) applying at the consulate
  • Parents of US citizens applying at the consulate
  • Brothers and sisters of US citizens applying at the consulate
  • Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of US citizens applying at the consulate (children under 21 years old of US citizens were not affected)
  • Sons and daughters (meaning over 21 years old) of green card holders applying at the consulate
  • Diversity visa lottery winners
  • EB1A extraordinary abilities and their family applying at the consulate
  • PERM EB3, PERM EB2, NIW employment based and their family applying at the consulate
  • EB4 religious workers immigrants applying at the consulate
  • H1B and H4 dependents applying at the consulate
  • L1 and L2 applying at the consulate
  • J1 applying at the consulate  

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick provides an important update regarding upcoming changes to the H-1B lottery program for cap-subject petitions.

Want to know more? Keep on watching for more information.

Overview

We have big news regarding new changes to the H-1B visa lottery program. On January 8, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule in the federal register entitled, “Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions,” which will completely change the selection process for cap-subject H-1B petitions (for both regular cap and the advanced degree exemption) beginning March 9, 2021.

The purpose of the final rule is to modify the H-1B cap selection process, amend current lottery procedures, and prioritize wages to ensure H-1B visas are awarded only to the most highly skilled foreign workers according to a new wage level selection process.

It is important to note that these new changes will impact the upcoming H-1B FY 2022 visa registration cycle for cap-subject petitions, which begins in March. Transfer applications and renewals will not be impacted by this new rule.

According to the new rule, USCIS will no longer follow the randomized computer-generated selection process and will instead rely on a wage ranking system to select necessary registrations each fiscal year.

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick shares the latest update regarding a new executive order that is soon to be released, that will temporarily suspend the entry of L-1, H-1B, H-2B, and J-1 non-immigrants for at least several months.

Keep on watching for more information.

Overview

Please note that the information we can provide is only preliminary in nature based on reports and rumors that have been circulating recently.

What will the order do?

The new executive order is rumored to propose a temporary suspension on the entry of individuals residing abroad who have an L-1, H-1B, H-2B, and J-1 petition approved, but don’t have a visa yet in their passports. The new executive order anticipates suspending the issuance of visas for these individuals for at least several months.

In addition, the executive order proposes a temporary suspension on the entry of those who already have an L-1, H-1B, H-2B, or J-1 visas in their passports, but have not yet traveled to the United States on their visa.

Will there be exceptions on who is impacted?

Yes. Like with previous executive orders there will likely be exceptions that will protect some categories of individuals from being impacted such as health care professionals, those working to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, and essential workers in food-related industries. Other exceptions may also be made but it is not yet clear what those exceptions could be.

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses an important announcement for medical professionals who have an approved U.S. nonimmigrant, immigrant visa petition, or certificate of eligibility, and are seeking to treat or mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

Keep on watching for more information.

Overview:

The United States government recently announced the urgent need for medical professionals from abroad to combat the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. The United States is currently at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic with a record number of cases and a rising number of deaths that has surpassed those of China and Italy.

As a result, the Department of State is encouraging medical professionals from abroad, working to treat or mitigate the effects of COVID-19 , who have either (1) an approved U.S. nonimmigrant or immigrant visa petition (I-129, I-140, or similar) or (2) certificate of eligibility in an approved exchange visitor program (DS-2019), to request a visa appointment at their nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Please note that this measure applies only to medical professionals with an approved visa.

Although U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide have suspended routine visa services, this is one of the few exceptions that medical professionals need to be taking advantage of.

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Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, we have some bad news for H1B visa holders, some very very alarming statistics. If you want to know what they are watch this video.

H1B Visas and Rate of Denials

Based on a recent statistic, between 2015 through 2019 there has been a significant increase in H1B visa denials. H1B visa denials have quadrupled in denial rates.

Similarly, the volume of requests for evidence issued to H1B petitioners have increased by 60 percent.

The H-1B season for fiscal year 2021 will bring some important changes. Firstly, USCIS has imposed a new online electronic registration requirement for H1B petitioners to streamline the H1B lottery process.

When we see a quadrupling in the rate of H1B visas denied for strong H1B petitions, it is apparent that the government is trying to send a message, which is that they want to limit the amount of people who can actually file for H1B visas. In the requests for evidence we have received for H1B extensions and transfers, we see a trend in which USCIS is using the most narrow interpretation of what a “specialty occupation,” is which by definition limits the pool of candidates eligible to receive an H1B visa.

We are seeing almost automatic denials for our marketing and business positions because USCIS is being so restrictive in how they interpret and define a “specialty occupation.” USCIS is taking the position that marketing and business positions are not “specialty occupations.”

USCIS has time and time again refused to accept the complexity of these positions, legal arguments in support of a finding that these positions are in fact specialty occupations, and ignored expert opinions supporting such positions as “specialty occupations.”

From what we have seen in our own filings and from conversations we have had with other attorneys and law offices, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get H1B visas approved for positions and occupations are were normally approved without difficulty in the past.

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Have you ever wondered how you can land a job with a US employer who will sponsor you for an H-1B visa?

In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the process of finding a job in the United States that can lead to an H-1B sponsorship.

To be able to work in the United States you must have a work visa. The most common work visa is the H-1B visa.

What is the H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa allows American companies and/or organizations to employ foreign workers in a specialty occupation. To be able to apply for the H-1B visa you must have a job offer from a U.S. employer, and a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent work experience to work in the position sought.

The H-1B visa is a visa for professionals. Attorneys, architects, engineers, business directors, lodging managers, etc. can apply for the H-1B visa based on their specialty occupation.

How do you land a job offer?

U.S. employers are open to hiring foreign nationals, but many are unaware of the process that goes into employing a foreign national.

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