The H-1B visa is the visa category assigned to highly skilled workers. These are professionals with a college degree.
The visas issued to them, also known as work permits, allow recipients to come to the U.S. to work for three years, with the option to renew for another three years. Obtaining this type of visa requires prior digital registration.
Typically, H-1B visa applicants will have at least 4 years of college or equivalent work experience and work in their previous field of study or experience.
As of Tuesday, March 29, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the annual H-1B employment cap limit for FY 2023 has been reached and the random selection process has ended.
By reading this article, you will not only understand the status that governs you as an applicant, but you will also be educated on the other paperwork that must be completed if you are selected.
How do I view the Random Selection Results Online?
To view the results of the random selection, your immigration attorney and corporate signatory will need to access their my.USCIS.gov account and check the status of each beneficiary.
In addition, for each cap record, USCIS must send an email to the employer’s authorized signer and immigration attorney to inform them of the change in status record.
For each registered beneficiary, the USCIS online system displays one of four statuses:
1.) Submitted: this application has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process is complete, the application remains eligible for selection in subsequent selections for the fiscal year in which it was submitted, unless it is subsequently invalidated.
2.) Selected: indicates that the employer may file an H-1B cap application for FY 2023 for the recipient within the designated 90-day filing period.
3.) Denied: duplicate records submitted by the same filer for the same recipient; all FY 2023 entries submitted for that recipient are invalid. There have been reports that USCIS has incorrectly rejected some records as duplicate submissions. If you receive such a rejection, please recheck your submission records to ensure that there are indeed no duplicate submissions.
4.) Invalidated-Failed Payment: An entry was submitted, but the payment method was rejected, disputed or cancelled after submission.
H-1B Cap Petitions for FY 2023
H-1B cap filings on behalf of selected individuals for FY 2023 began on April 1, 2022 and will continue through June 30, 2022. The petition is submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Applicants have 90 days to complete this process.
For admissions selected between March 19 and March 29, all FY 2023 H-1B capstone petitions must be submitted during this period. Selection notifications received to date reflect the application period of April 1 through June 30, 2022.
While in most cases a cap request can be made at any time during the application period, some circumstances may require a specific time frame. For example these cases:
If the beneficiary is an F-1 student and needs cap-gap protection, this request must be submitted before the expiration of their OPT employment authorization.
If the beneficiary is awaiting completion or graduation of the required degree, the petition, in this case, should not be submitted until the degree has been awarded or the beneficiary has obtained documentation from the appropriate school principal that the degree requirements have been met.
In all cases, the H-1B petition cannot be submitted online, so applicants filing an H-1B petition must do so on paper. The petitioner must attach a printed copy of the applicable admission selection notice to the FY 2023 H-1B capstone subject petition.
Only elective applicants may file FY 2023 H-1B cap-subject petitions, and only for those recipients named in the applicable elective enrollment notice.
Selection during the enrollment process does not exempt applicants from submitting evidence or otherwise determining their eligibility, as enrollment is tied only to eligibility to file an H-1B capstone subject petition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the annual cap on H-1B visas?
The number of H-1B visas available each fiscal year is capped at 65,000 individuals with a bachelor’s degree and an additional 20,000 for individuals with an advanced degree from a U.S. university.
Do I need to find an employer?
The H1B visa is tied to the employer. This means that you absolutely must be sponsored by your employer to apply.
Employers must demonstrate that you will be hired for a professional position. Employers will also need to show that they will pay you the “prevailing wage” for the position. Current salaries must be determined based on an objective survey of the salaries of similarly employed professionals in the same geographic area in which you will be employed.
The employer must also file a statement of working conditions with the Regional Labor Office (DOL). The application assures the DOL that the company will provide you with fair pay and benefits equal to those of a U.S. citizen.
How long is the H1-B visa valid?
The visa is valid for 6 years and can be extended if the applicant submits a current green card application before the 5th year expires.
Depending on your situation, if you need help with the process, please contact the Herman Legal Group who can provide you with information on which visa category may be right for you.
Workers seeking employment green cards have two time challenges. The first challenge is that the priority date of their application must be before the cutoff date set forth in the US Visa Bulletin. The second challenge is that the eligibility of the applicant for a visa or green card depends on the country of the applicant. Some countries (China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines, and possibly others) have limits on the percentage of available visas and green cards.
The US House of Representatives previously passed legislation that would remove these “country” caps for many countries. Now, according to The Register, the US Senate has passed draft legislation that would remove the per-county cap on vias – for “skilled” workers. This would mean that large countries like India would no longer have the same number of visas as smaller countries. For some countries, the demand for green cards can mean wait times of decades.
The S.386 – Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 was passed by the Senate on Wednesday, December 2. The House of Representatives previously passed a different version. The sponsor of the bill, Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah, “has argued that capping the number of visas that can be issued to a country is “de facto country-of-origin discrimination.”
Senator Lee’s “amendments to the bill do away with per-country caps, but also limit a single nation to 85 percent of all visas awarded in a single year.” The Trump administration sill plans for the visas to be granted only to “to very highly-paid workers first as a means to avoid imported workers undercutting the salaries expected by American residents.”
The Trump administration has not indicated whether it will sign S.386 which has to be coordinated with the House version of the bill. The Senate bill excludes Chinese nationals or aliens associated with the Chinese Communist Party or the People’s Republic of China.
The bill is supported by the tech industry which wants more talented people – but is opposed by the US Tech Workers lobby group.
According to MoneyControl.com, the S.386 would remove the seven (7) percent country cap. If signed into law, “the oldest applicants by priority date would get the green card first, as it would follow a first-come-first-served basis. For newer applicants, it would still take a proportionate amount of time before their turn comes.”
MoneyControl also states that S.386 could “impact Indians [and presumably other aliens] by allocating 70 percent of the green card to H-1B holders and their dependents for one to nine years. This would become 50 percent in consecutive years.”
On December 2, the Register also reported that “a California judge smacked down the administration’s new H-1B plan on grounds that it was implemented without sufficient notice or consultation, and in any event would not bring about the policy objective of a boost to the US economy. That ruling preceded the Senate vote by just a few hours.
To stay informed about this possible new law changing cap country limits, call Herman Legal Group at +1-216-696-6170 or complete our contact form to speak with us.