H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed
Law Office of Vivian Wang Blog
As you may be aware, the Governor of California issued a statewide “Stay at Home” order yesterday. In light of the current COVID-19 situation, we want to reassure everyone that we have implemented internal processes in order to keep up with our clients’ needs. My firm has fully embraced the latest Internet technologies since 1999. While our physical office space remains accessible during this special time, we are also accustomed to running an efficient virtual law practice.
Our law firm successfully submitted the first batch of registrations on Sunday, March 1, when USCIS opened the H-1B registration system. Ten days have passed since then. The online system, being brand new, experienced intermittent technical glitches. USCIS managed to fix some of the problems. However, additional slowdowns and issues are possible during the remaining 10 days of the registration period, which closes on March 20.
Based on past history, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H1B quota-subject filings for federal fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) on April 1, 2019. FY covers a twelve-month period beginning October 1 and ending September 30, making October 1, 2019 the starting date of FY 2020.
On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H1B quota-subject filings for federal fiscal year 2019 (FY19). FY covers a twelve-month period beginning October 1 and ending September 30, making October 1, 2018 the starting date of FY 2019.
Here is the scoop with this year’s H1B filing:
What is a RFE?
Upon invitation from the American Society for Biochemistry and Microbiology (ASBMB), Attorney Wang recently spoke at the Experimental Biology Conference held in Chicago April 22-26, 2017. Ms. Wang spoke on a panel entitled “Immigration and Visa Issues for Foreign STEM Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows," which was part of this year’s ASBMB’s Education and Professional Development sessions.
Some of our law firm's company clients received cleared checks written out to USCIS in connection with their H1B quota cases filed on Apirl 3, 2017. This is clear indication that those particular cases have been accepted by USCIS. One of the first things USCIS does after receiving a case is to process the filing fees. USCIS does not deposit the filing fee checks if they don't accept the case.
The August Visa Bulletin contains some significant changes in certain employment-based categories. For China and India in the EB1 category, the State Department has imposed a cutoff date of January 1, 2010. The worldwide EB1 category remains current. In the EB2 category, a cutoff date of February 1, 2014 was established for worldwide chargeability, with a predicted return to current in October. The EB2 cutoff for India advanced by two weeks from November 1, 2004 to November 15, 2004. In the EB3 category, the worldwide chargeability advanced by two weeks from March 1, 2016 to March 15, 2016. In the EB5 category, the cutoff for China remained unchanged as February 15, 2014. The EB5 category is otherwise current.
Dr. Raj Mukhopadhyay was a client of our law firm. Several years ago, we helped Raj and her family apply for a green card via PERM labor certification. She is now a naturalized U.S. citizen and works as the Chief Science Correspondent for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Ms. X is a design engineer employed by a structural engineering company with fewer than 100 full time employees.
Ms. X is a pharmacist employed by a large hospital. When she came to us to inquiry about getting a green card, we advised that the best route to take is Green Card in the EB2 category via PERM labor certification. After a careful evaluation, two areas that needed special attention were identified:
In March of 2014, Mr. X contacted our firm, interested in applying for permanent residency using the self-petition route of National Interest Waiver (NIW). NIW is classified as EB2. For Mr. X’s country of birth, EB2 priority date is current, meaning if successful, Mr. X could become a permanent resident within a short timeframe.
National Interest Waiver was filed to Nebraska Service Center in September of 2014. Applicant is a software engineer on the job market. NIW approved on May 1, 2015, after RFE. Applicant is a native of Taiwan. it's worth noting that the application had no papers published in academic journals and no citation.
Today, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) released the July 2015 Visa Bulletin. EB2 China moves ahead by four months, to October 1, 2013. EB3 China shows no movement, remaining at September 1, 2011. The employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for India sees no movement, leaving the cutoff date at October 1, 2008. EB3 India advances by just over one week, to February 1, 2004.
USCIS has created a new online tool to help green card applicants find doctors authorized to provide the medical examination required for most applications for adjustment of status (I-485s). The website provides the names and contact information for authorized civil surgeons in the area based on the address or zip code. It also lists what documents applicants should bring to their appointments and briefly explains the medical tests conducted during the exams.
We got the first batch of quota-subject non-PP H1B receipts from CSC today.