03/09/2005 IMMIGRATION ALERT

CIS: NO MASTER'S H-1Bs YET

 

Congress recently authorized 20,000 H-1B visas to holders of US Masters or greater degrees. (See: http://www.hammondlawfirm.com/alerts/12.09.2004alert.htm). The program was set to begin on March 9, 2005. However this past Friday the Citizenship and Immigration Service published notice delaying the program's commencement.

The CIS' press release (http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/H1BVisaReformAct03_04_05.pdf)

advises employers not to file H-1B petitions seeking to employ an H-1B worker who may benefit from these provisions until USCIS publishes guidance in the Federal Register. At this time it is unknown when such guidance will be published. In the interim the CIS will reject any new H-1B petition that is filed in advance of the effective filing date as established in the forthcoming Federal Register notice.