Reminder: File H-1B Petitions Early!

On April 1, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. USCIS said it expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap during the first five business days of this year’s program. The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) recommends filing during the first five business days in April.

If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the first five business days, the agency will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to meet the cap. USCIS will reject all unselected petitions that are subject to the cap as well as any petitions received after the cap has closed.

Contact Ivener & Fullmer for help with H-1B applications.

• The USCIS announcement 
• USCIS has released an optional checklist for I-129 H-1B filings (PDF) 
• USCIS encourages H-1B applicants to subscribe to the H-1B Cap Season email updates