H-1 Cap Expected to Hit April 2 | Immigration Alert

In our last H-1 planning update, we suggested that the H-1 cap could be hit in two weeks. We are now officially revising that projection. HLG expects that the H-1 cap will be reached on April 2 -- the very first day that the quota will open.

With that in mind, we recommend that you review your current situation particularly and ask the following:

Is the company going to make any off-shore hires between now and October 1, 2008 ? If so, the candidates need to be identified, job offers finalized and paperwork prepared ASAP.

Does the company have any L-1b employees that are close to exhausting their 5 yrs. of eligibility and/or need the added benefits that come with an H-1b?

Does the company have any TN employees that may want to process a green card and need the benefits of an H-1b to allow the green card process to be accomplished easier?

Does the company have any students/interns working for me in CPT or OPT (interns, co-ops, etc) that the company would like to continue to employ beyond the expiration of their CPT or OPT?

Does the company have any candidates that I intend to offer employment to that need a change of status eg. J, H-4, L-2, B, F-2, etc.?

If any of the above scenarios apply to you, please contact us so that we can prepare and file the case.

In the likely event that the USCIS receives more than the Congressionally-allowed 65,000 H-1 Petitions, it will use a lottery system in order select the "lucky" 65,000. Any other cases will be returned to the Petitioner, with full fees intact.

The STRIVE Act has just been introduced in the House of Representatives calls for the H-1 cap to be raised to 115,000 (and has triggers that can raise the cap to 180,000 in future years). The Act also calls for additional H-1 exemption numbers (e.g. the current Masters degree exemption will be enlarged). It is expected that identical legislation shortly will be introduced in the Senate. HLG strongly supports this legislation.