USCIS Conducts H-1B Lottery

Posted by Murali Bashyam on Apr 15, 2008 in H1B Visas, News | 0 comments On April 14, 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted its computer-generated random selection processes to select which H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would be adjudicated.   USCIS conducted two random selections – first on petitions qualifying for the 20,000 “master’s or higher degree” (advanced degree) exemption, and...
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USCIS Receives Approximately 163,000 H-1B Visa Applications

Posted by Murali Bashyam on Apr 11, 2008 in H1B Visas, News | 0 comments U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008.  More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree category.  USCIS expects that next week it will conduct the computer-generated random selection process, beginning with the selection of the...
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USCIS Announces FY 2009 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached

Posted by Murali Bashyam on Apr 8, 2008 in H1B Visas, News | 0 comments U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2009. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the “advanced degree” exemption. Before running the random selection process, USCIS will complete initial...
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USCIS To Accept H-1B Applications Sent to Either Vermont or California Service Centers

Posted by Murali Bashyam on Apr 8, 2008 in H1B Visas, News | 0 comments USCIS announced that it will not reject an H-1B petition that is subject to the fiscal year 2009 cap solely on the grounds that it was received at the wrong service center (e.g. the petition may have been inadvertently mailed to the California Service Center instead of the Vermont Service Center or vice versa).   It is important to note this accommodation does not apply if the petitions were...
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DHS Extends OPT for Certain F-1 Students; Addresses F-1/H-1B Cap Gap Issue

Posted by Murali Bashyam on Apr 8, 2008 in H1B Visas, News, Other | 0 comments The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students. Currently, foreign students in F-1 nonimmigrant status who have been enrolled on a full-time basis for at least one full academic year in a college, university, conservatory, or seminary are...
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