If a registrant no longer wants their attorney involved, they can end the relationship with the representative, and the registrant will still be able to see all registration information in their own registrant account(s). For instance, a former client of VisaNation Law Group was employed in the U.S. from January 2003 to November 2006. Please see the steps outlined in the Tips for Filing Forms Online page to see if your account qualifies. Once you identify an employer, you can expedite the process by opting for premium processing. March 1: H-1B registration period opens at noon Eastern. However, to be considered exempt from the ACWIA fee, such petitions may not contain any requests to extend the validity unless the USCIS error involves the validity dates. The company would need to have the individuals at each office create their own registrant account for which they are authorized to sign. If a petitioner has confirmation from the delivery service that the petition was delivered, but they have not yet received a Form I-797 confirming receipt of the petition, the petitioner should not submit a second petition. To determine the correct mailing address for the service center named on your Registration Selection Notice, see our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker page. After they select I am an H-1B registrant account type, registrants will not be able to add additional information until the initial registration period opens. Q23. In some instances, H-4 holders can also get the ability to work. You may file an H-1B petition no more than six months before the employment start date requested for the beneficiary. Does a duplicate registration in a submission batch affect all registrations in the batch or only the duplicate registration? If the educational institution does not have a registrar, then the letter must be signed by the person in charge of educational records where the degree will be awarded. We would not consider such registrations duplicates. If your petition is rejected because it was filed at the wrong location, you may refile your rejected petition with the correct service center as long as the petition is refiled during the designated 90-day filing window on your Registration Selection Notice. According to Section 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act, an institution of higher education must: USCIS defines a non-profit research organization as one that is primarily engaged in basic or applied research. The most common not-for-profit institutions are colleges and universities affiliated with medical labs, research units, and hospitals. Please refer to the H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker page for detailed instructions on H-1B fees. If you are outside of the U.S. and the visa in your passport expires, then you should go to your U.S. consular to apply for a new H-1B visa. 23, 2018) (PDF, 123.38 KB). Registrant account This is the account that a prospective petitioner must create in order participate in the H-1B registration process, regardless of whether the prospective petitioner will be using an attorney or accredited representative to submit the registration. However, in some cases, you can file H-1B applications without going through the H-1B cap. After the legal representative submits a registration, will the registrant be notified via email or by logging into their account? H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits a US company to hire workers in specialty occupations . They will need two separate accounts, one for each company. For more information about the H-1B program, visit our H-1B Specialty Occupations webpage. If your original sponsoring employer is cap-exempt and you wish to transfer to a cap-subject employer, then the latter employer will need to file an H-1B cap petition on your behalf. Individual R.F.E.s can range between $500- $1600 depending on the cases circumstances. The H-1B selection process is then run on properly submitted electronic registrations. A letter from the registrar confirming that the beneficiary has met all of the degree requirements. For the H-1B visa holder to change employers, the new employer must submit an H-1B Visa Transfer petition with the USCIS. This temporary increase is in response to stakeholder feedback and the volume of previous H-1B registrations that exceeded the daily credit card limit. Even when using this check function, the representative and the registrant still are responsible for ensuring that they do not submit duplicate registrations. Your use of this website and our software platform are subject to VisaNation Inc.'s privacy policy and terms of use. Q11. Ensure that the beneficiarys name is spelled properly and that their date of birth is displayed in the proper format (mm/dd/yyyy). If registering for the masters cap based on the expectation that the beneficiary will earn a qualifying advanced degree and the registration is selected under the masters cap, but the beneficiary does not obtain their qualifying advanced degree by the time of filing the cap-subject H-1B petition, is there a risk that USCIS will deny the cap-subject H-1B petition for that beneficiary? Please see the video below for instructions about setting up registrant accounts. Therefore Maria qualifies for the exemption even if Company X files the petition because she would be performing tasks that fall under the exemption rules and follow Company Ys mission. Due to the current travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, it may be wise to consult with an H-1B lawyer before traveling without an approved H-1B amendment. Furthermore, USCIS may also refer the individual or entity who submitted a false attestation to appropriate federal law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action, as appropriate. Cap-subject H-1B employers must pay the ACWIA education and training fee. What if I choose the wrong account type when I am creating a USCIS online account? When we receive a timely and properly filed H-1B cap subject petition, the petitioner (and, if applicable, the petitioners legal representative) will be provided a Form I-797, Notice of Action, communicating receipt of the petition. Fortunately, the H-1B applies to many occupations, including those in the sciences, engineering, business administration, and more. Below is a chart detailing the H-1B fees including those for H-1B cap-exempt petitioners. This type of letter is usually required by USCIS to provide evidence of the employer/employee relation based on the rules in the January 8, 2010 Neufeld memo. However, Widget Inc.s parent company, A.B.C. A7. Employ 50 or more employees in the United States and more than 50% of those employees are in H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status. A15. H-1B Cap-Exempt Non-Profit Organization Requirements. Registrants must provide the passport numbers or affirmatively indicate that the beneficiary does not have a passport number. Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H Classification Supplement to Form I-129, H-1B and H-1B1 Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement. We analyze the data of submitted registrations for fraud trends, and we may refer registrants who abuse or attempt to abuse the system to federal law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action. The question he had was whether he would be eligible to file a new cap-exempt H-1B petition. Under this process, prospective petitioners (also known as registrants), and their authorized representatives, who are seeking to employ H-1B workers subject to the cap, complete a registration process that requires basic information about the prospective petitioner and each requested worker. When filing your H-1B petition with USCIS, you must include evidence that an LCA (ETA 9035) has been certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. The petition would be for the remainder of the employees allowed time in the U.S.. For example, an employee named Juan Valdez was in the U.S. on H-1B status from February 15, 2003, to December 1, 2006. Like the H1B visa transfer procedure, you can be eligible for work as soon as all fees are paid and the USCIS receives . We remind the public that at the time each registration is submitted, each prospective petitioner is required to sign an attestation, under penalty of perjury, that: If USCIS finds that this attestation was not true and correct, USCIS will find the registration to not be properly submitted and the prospective petitioner would not be eligible to file a petition based on that registration. You can look up employers and find databases that match you to a suitable H-1B cap-exempt employer. usavisanow.com - Immigration Law Office of Eran Regev, Esq. Yes, as he has not used up his 6 years allowed on H-1B. In addition to the base filing fee, you may need to pay one of the following fees for a petition subject to the cap: American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA) fee: The ACWIA fee information is available in Section 2 of the H-1B and H-1B1 Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement on pages 19-21 of Form I-129. I am writing to confirm that ABC Solutions Inc. employee Mr. Rajesh Singh will be performing Software Engineering duties on a project for Acme Inc. as . It will not check for duplicates within that draft or between drafts. The submission, however, will only be valid once processing of the payment is completed. However, if you decide you want to change employers after getting. An employer can apply for your H-1B visa even while youre living outside of the U.S. After its approved, you need to get an H-1B visa stamp at the U.S. Consulate or Embassy in your home county, and then you can legally enter the U.S. H-1B transfers are possible. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues 85,000 h1b visas every year. Claiming cap exemption status is an effective way for employers to attempt to avoid the H-1B cap. 2nd Concurrent H-1B Visa - Immigration Solutions In that case, USCIS will revoke all of your petitions from the related employers. Yes. This is because you will no longer be a cap-exempt candidate and have not been counted against the H-1B cap. Please note that we do not take responsibility for the informations validity in the above database link. Step 1: Documents Required for H1B Transfer: Obtain Documentation from Previous Employer Step 2: File an I-129 Petition with the USCIS Petition Letter Step 3: Receive H1B Visa Stamp or Change of Status Approval Step 4: Start New Employment with Employer B (if Cap Exempt) Why Did Your H1B Transfer Get Denied? The H-1B program allows companies and other employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. All supporting documentation to establish eligibility. Q27. Petitioners may not file multiple or duplicative H-1B petitions for the same beneficiary. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a lottery to award H-1B slots to enough foreign workers to meet its 85,000 visa annual cap. How to Know if You are Cap-Exempt From H-1B Lottery | Bridge Ensure that any information provided during the electronic registration process matches the information provided on the petition. The H-1B cap-exempt processing time varies from case to case but is on average six months. If, in the past, you were under H-1B status and are currently outside of the U.S., you might qualify to have an employer file a cap-exempt petition. I work for one of the latter on a cap-exempt h1b. To qualify as an H-1B cap-exempt non-profit research or government research organization, the organization must meet the definition of a non-profit entity and its requirements: No. There is an error message that indicates an email mismatch or invalid passcode. AC21 Series: New Ways for Nonprofits to Claim Exemption from - SHRM Again, we need to reemphasize that all petitioners can complete the initial registration on their own accord. If you only submit one check as combined payment for all applicable fees and certain fees do not apply or are incorrect, we will reject your H-1B petition. Also, nonprofit research organizations which mainly engage in basic or applied research, governmental . USCIS has added duplicate checker functionality to the electronic registration process. The most significant benefit of the H-1B Portability rule is that it lets H-1B workers switch jobs without any risk of being out of status. Creating an online account is easy; please see the videos below. To learn more about a scenario like this or something similar, you can consult a qualified immigration attorney specializing in cap-exempt H-1B situations. Note that if USCIS selects your petition, your work start date is no earlier than October 1, 2022, just like any other applicant. Not Selected:Not selected not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration. Its worth noting that this six-year time period is only reset if you have been out of the U.S. for a minimum of one year; then you can file another H-1B under the quota. H-1B Frequently Asked Questions | Berkeley International Office As the H-1B visa holder, you do not have to receive permission from the former employer, though you should follow non-compete laws or any other contractual agreements with the employer. A nonprofit research organization is an organization that is primarily engaged in basic research and/or applied research. If you are interested in a cap-exempt transfer and have a gap in employment we recommend taking advantage of the premium processing service. This check will compare the beneficiaries listed in the draft with any registrations previously submitted during this registration period. The H-1B program allows companies and other employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelors degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. Below you will find answers to the most commonly asked questions about the topic: Some J-1 Exchange Visitors cannot get H-1B status until meeting the two-year, home-country physical presence requirement or USCIS waives it. Looking for U.S. government information and services? Evidence of Beneficiarys Educational Background. Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, nonprofit colleges, and universities offering an associate's degree or higher are generally cap-exempt. This may have unfairly increased their chances of selection. The advanced degree exemption is an exemption from the H-1B cap for beneficiaries who have earned a U.S. masters degree or higher and is available until the number of beneficiaries who are exempt on this basis exceeds 20,000. An exemption category is available to U.S. employers that fall into one of the three exemption categories including: Its essential to recognize two overarching classifications of H-1B cap-exempt petitions. If any information does not match, you should provide a written explanation and supporting documentation as to why there was a change or why the information does not match. This is also true if one of the registrations submitted in a batch contains an error. During the registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap, USCIS saw a significant increase in the number of registrations submitted compared to prior years. We have specific mailing addresses for cases that are subject to the H-1B cap. Premium processing is currently available for all H-1B petitions. USCIS will deny or revoke multiple or duplicative petitions filed by the same petitioner, for the same H-1B worker in the same fiscal year, and will not refund the filing fees. Please note that up to 6,800 visas are set aside from the 65,000 each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore free trade agreements. Does the client need to provide only one company contact for all their offices? In addition, we recommend that attorneys and authorized individuals who work for the same company communicate among themselves to eliminate duplicates before submitting their registrations. How does the attorney set them up as a client and allow the contact for each division to sign for submissions of employees in their division? You will also be able to submit Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative. Q32. A8. The petitioner must sign the form, preferably in black ink. The status of registrations that are not selected as part of any initial random selection process, and not denied or invalidated, will remain as Submitted. Registrants and representatives that are not selected will not be notified until after USCIS has determined that they have reached the H-1B cap for that fiscal year. You must file your petition with the correct service center, as indicated on your Registration Selection Notice. A33. As previously announced, on March 27, 2023, USCIS received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the FY 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption also known as the masters cap. In past years, the top H-1B visa occupations, according to myvisajobs.com, were software developers, computer analysts, operations research analysts, mechanical engineers, accountants and auditors, financial analysts and statisticians, and database administrators. Each year in March, U.S. This will result in the denial or revocation of both petitions. Do not file petitions earlier than six months before the requested employment start date. **The number of selections was smaller in FY 2024 than in prior years primarily due to (a) establishing a higher anticipated petition filing rate by selected registrants based on prior years; and (b) higher projected Department of State approvals of H-1B1 visas, which count against the H-1B cap. You can find the H Classification Supplement beginning on page 13 of Form I-129. In order to submit an H-1B registration, you must first create a USCIS online account. A26. . H-1B status, youll need the new employer to file a petition on your behalf. Yes. FY 2024 H-1B Initial Registration Period Updates If you decide to switch from an H-1B cap-exempt employer to one that is cap-subject, you may encounter a situation where a cap-subject employer will try and submit multiple registrations for you. The criteria are rigorous, and it is crucial to understand every caveat of the regulations in order to find you are eligible. If USCIS approves your amendment while youre traveling, your employer can forward it to you to use at the port of entry. For more information, please see the Unfairly Increasing Chances of Selection tab above. (This fee does not apply to Chile/Singapore H-1B1 petitions.). Q3. Q12. However, by statute, H1B visas are subject to an annual numerical limit of 65,000 visas for every fiscal year, although the first 20,000 petitions for these visas filed on behalf of beneficiaries with US master's degrees or higher are exempt from this cap. If youre seeking an H-1B transfer, speak with an H-1B lawyer at VisaNation Law Group first. Another situation where the H-1B Portability Rule would come into play is when a cap-subject employee worked at a cap-exempt position and wanted to transfer to a new position. On March 27, 2023, USCIS announced it had received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master's cap).. FY 2024 H-1B Registration Overview. What happens to my old account? After USCIS chooses your position in the lottery, your company may retain a VisaNation Law Group attorney to complete the process. Should they choose premium processing, then they would pay the base fee of $460, the fraud fee of $500, Public Law fee of $4,000 (only applies to companies with over 50 employees and with over 1/2 of their workers on the H-1B visa), the training fee ($1,500 if it applies) and of course the $2,500 premium processing fee plus any additional attorney fees incurred. This tier includes all form/support letter preparation plus case filing within the timeframe. Rejected petitions will not retain a filing date. Additional information is available on our How Do I Request Premium Processing? However, it is essential to note that the premium processing feature only expedites the speed at which the USCIS processes your I-129 petition. Q1. We do not refund the $10 fee if you delete a duplicate registration. A6. If you discover you or your representative submitted more than one registration for the same person and the initial registration period is still open (before noon Eastern on March 17, 2023), you can go into your account and delete the extra submission(s) until there is only one registration for the beneficiary. Click here if you want to learn more about H-1B cap exempt employers. Based on evidence from the FY 2023 and FY 2024 H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions accordingly, and is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution. Petitioners should enter their own address in Part 1, question 3 of the Form I-129. United States: USCIS Received Record Number of Eligible Registrations The best person who can determine this is a qualified immigration lawyer. USCIS Memo On H-1B Cap Exemption Under AC21 AC21 [codified at INA 214 (g) (5) (A)- (B)] exempts the following petitioners from the H-1B cap: Institutions of higher education Nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education Nonprofit research organizations Governmental research organizations Legal services are subject to a separate attorney agreement between VisaNation Law Group PLLC (formerly SGM Law Group PLLC) and you. Yes, you can select premium processing while filing or, at a later time, upgrade to it after getting the receipt notice. May 3, 2007; The employee musts not have violation any of your visa statuses or guided any unlawful act in the U.S. Registrants or their representative are required to pay the $10 non-refundable H-1B registration fee for each beneficiary before being eligible to submit a registration for that beneficiary for the H-1B cap. If you are an attorney or representative, view the video below for steps on how to submit registrations for your clients. H-1B Cap Reached: How To Hire Cap Exempt Candidates? - VisaPro See the section below on, A copy of the beneficiarys final transcript; or. You can check USCIS processing times online. USCIS Releases FY24 H-1B Initial Registration Data Yes. In addition, the IRS should approve the non-profit as a tax-exempt organization for research or educational services by the I.R.S. Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) if the beneficiary is in the United States, SEVIS Form I-20 if the beneficiary is a current or former F-1 student or F-2 dependent, SEVIS Form DS-2019 if the beneficiary is a current or former J-1 or J-2, Form I-566 if the beneficiary is a current A or G nonimmigrant, Department of Labor certified LCA, Form ETA 9035, Employer/attorney/representative letter(s). Employment with a cap-exempt employer may provide an alternative option to those foreign nationals not selected in the H1B lottery. He was in the U.S. on H-1B status from November 3, 2010, to December 5, 2016. H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts. However, the registrant will not be able to add a new attorney or representative to H-1B registrations prepared or submitted by the previous attorney. Entering the same beneficiary more than once. H-1B workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam may also be exempt from the H-1B cap (see the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229). Will the system generate a new one-time code that the legal representative sends to the registrant each time the legal representative goes into the system to view or edit the Form G-28? For further information on Form G-28, please see our Filing Your Form G-28 page. H1b Cap Exempt Jobs Non-Profit H1B Visa - Herman Legal Group The regulation confirms that a cap-subject employer seeking to take advantage of the H-1B quota exemption must demonstrate to USCIS that the H-1B beneficiary is employed in valid H-1B. The prohibition on an employer or related entities filing multiple H-1B cap petitions for the same beneficiary has not changed. The cap gap extension allows for some F-1 students to extend their F-1 status and/or authorized period of post-completion OPT until they transition to the H-1B status on Oct. 1.
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