USCIS Will Open Annual H-1B Visa Quota On 1 April 2015

12 Feb 2015

A significant deadline is close for the US employers who are seeking to bring foreign nationals to the US. Employers need to plan properly and meet the deadline in order to bring the talented individuals into the US successfully.

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) will commence accepting H-1B visa applications on 1 April 2015, for the start date of 1 October 2015.  H-1B visa are issued for the graduate degree professionals, such as software engineers, developers, scientists as well as financial analysts. 

The yearly quota of H-1B visa filings is 85,000 and relates to first time of visa applications, not to extensions with the similar firm or shift to other firms. It is expected that the demand for H-1B visa applications will be increased by two times the quota allocation.

Employers must also verify that is it necessary to have such a visa either to recruit a new person or to keep an existing overseas employee work officially, who holds post-graduation work permit.

Apparently it is advised that ahead employer extends job offer to an overseas national, who need a sponsorship, US employer must make sure that all the US immigration issues are covered such as eligibility criteria, immigration history, validity period of H-1B visa status and existing wage issues.

Initially H-1B visas are granted for three years and later it can also be extended for an extra three years.  If the firm has sponsored the candidate for US permanent residency, then H-1B visas can also be extended for six more years. 

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