U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will now accept premium processing requests on all H-1B petitions. USCIS will likely issue another notice prior to H-1B cap filings but for now pending or new filed H petitions may be premium processed.
As the April 1 H-1B cap filing date approaches, please confirm whether your company employs recent foreign student graduates on optional practical training work authorization or whether you have foreign individuals your company would like to employ in the US that may not qualify for intracompany or treaty visas. The H-1B visa work authorization will not begin until October 1, 2019. If we do not file for an H-1B cap visa on April 1, we cannot file again until April 1, 2020. This does not apply to change of employer or cap exempt H-1Bs but rather an individual’s first H-1B visa. Please contact your Varnum immigration attorney if you have any questions or individuals to assess.