The USCIS announced on April 2, 2007, that it has received on its first day the H-1B petitions well in excess to meet the congressionally mandated cap for the 2008 fiscal year. USCIS has used a random selection process for all cap-subject filings received on April 2, 2007 and April 3, 2007. Those not randomly selected and those received on or after April 4, 2007, will be rejected and returned (along with the filing fees).
Petitioners may re-submit petitions on April 1, 2008 when the H-1B visas become available for the 2009 fiscal year. This is the earliest date for which an employer may file a petition requesting FY 2009 H-1B employment with a start date of October 1, 2008. However, the high volume of applications filed has created an unprecedented eighteen-month restriction on access to new H-1B visas for temporary alien professionals.
In light of the H-1B crisis the American businesses will be facing today, we strongly urge you, our clients, to write to your respective congressmen and senators to stress the importance of keeping the US economy competitive in the world market and keeping jobs in America. Please click here to email or write to your members of Congress.(Courtesy of American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), AILA Doc. No. 07040460). All you need to do is type in your name and contact information.
The best way to resolve this crisis is for Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform measure as soon as possible, which would include a substantial increase in the H 1B quota. There are currently several various immigration bills being introduced by both houses of Congress such as, just to name a few, the Sen. Hagel's High-Tech Worker Temporary Relief Bill , the SKIL Act, and the STRIVE Act. Please click on these links to read the text of the bills.
All these bills aim to substantially increase the H-1B quota on different levels: either to exempt holders of U.S. advanced degrees from the annual cap, to exempt holders of all advanced degrees regardless where they were obtained or to exempt holders of advanced degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) specialties.
Our hope and prediction is that Congress will pass bill(s) in the next three months, which will provide relief in some shape or form, at least temporary, for the temporary employment based immigration. Otherwise, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
correctly has stated in its April 12, 2007 Letter on Employment-Based (EB or Green Card) and H-1B Visa Programs to Congress: “The inability of these companies to bring highly educated workers and students into the United States severely hurts their competitiveness in the global market and often leads to companies moving operations overseas.”
For more information, please contact the Guttikonda Law Firm.
