By Alan Perkins and Melany Savitt
On April 6, 2018, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for FY2019 was reached within the five business day filing window running from April 2-6, 2018. This includes both the U.S. advanced degree cap preference limit of 20,000 visas and the regular cap limit of 65,000 visas.
NEXT STEPS:
USCIS will hold a computer-generated random lottery for the petitions received. USCIS has not yet announced when the lottery will be conducted. A lottery will be held first for the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap preference. The unselected U.S. advanced degree cases will then be included in the 65,000 regular cap lottery.
TIMING:
Premium processing is not currently available for FY2019 H?1B cap petitions (USCIS may resume premium processing for these cases in September). It will likely be several weeks before receipt notices are received by mail confirming acceptance in the lottery. Based on prior years, it will likely take until June and July for returned cases to be received confirming rejection in the lottery.
This client alert is prepared for the general information of our clients and friends. It should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this update, or for more information about this topic, please contact any of the attorneys in our Business Immigration Practice Group, or the attorney with whom you normally consult.
Filed under