Act Now to Make Sure You or Your Employee Can Keep Working!

Do you have employees working for you on EAD or OPT? Are you working for an employer on OPT or EAD and hope to be sponsored for an H-1B visa? Now is the time to get the petition preparation process underway! The first day we can file a new H-1B petition is April 1.

USCIS accepts up to 65,000 NEW H-1B visa petitions each year, plus an additional 20,000 H-1B petitions for U.S. master’s degree holders. In recent years, this H-1B “cap” has not been met the first day of filing, but it has been met within just a couple of months (last year it was met in June). While no one can predict with 100% certainty when the cap will be met, it was met last year much sooner than the year before. Given the economic recovery and other factors, it’s possible the cap will be met even faster this year. Therefore it is critical to take action now to start preparing the petition. There are several reasons to start preparing the petition now:

1. Remember, before we file the Labor Condition Application (LCA) must be filed and certified, and this can take a week or longer. For new or small companies, the tax ID number must be verified prior to filing the LCA, which can take additional time.
2. Certain critical documents must be gathered for a successful petition, including in some cases, the end client letter, contracts, work orders, and project details.
3. Finally, we don’t know if or when immigration reform will pass. If there is a change in immigration laws in the next few months, you will want to have your documents and forms ready to go immediately on April 1 so that you do not face a USCIS processing delay due to immigration reform.

For a comprehensive quick-start guide to H-1Bs, please email your request to info@sumnerimmigration.com.

This information is for general educational purposes only. You must consult with an experienced immigration attorney before taking or refraining from taking action.