EB-2 Worldwide Numbers May Become Backlogged In The Coming Months

The Department of State, in the November 2022 Visa Bulletin, included the following in its list of possible future changes in the visa bulletin:

Increased demand in the Employment Second category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

Unfortunately, this means it is very likely that the EB-2 category (which includes employer-sponsored immigrant visas for those with a Master’s Degree or higher and those filing a National Interest Waiver) will backlog in the coming months. We do not know precisely when, and most likely, it will not be until the beginning of next calendar year, but we will have to keep a close eye on the visa bulletin in the coming months.

One point of interest is that DOS indicates that the “final action date” may retrogress. This could mean that the “dates for filing” date could remain current. It would then be up to USCIS to determine which dates they will use to allow the filing of the I-485. For those who may not remember, or be familiar with, the different dates used by the DOS: The “final action dates” table lists the dates for each immigrant visa type for which an immigrant visa is available (this date needs to be current for the I-485 or consular processing case to be approved); The “dates for filing” table lists the dates for each immigrant visa type for which the Department of State thinks that the “final action date” will be at within the next 6-12 months (it is the table used by the Department of State to determine when to begin the consular processing part for each case type). Each month USCIS indicates which table it will use to determine if a potential immigrant can file an I-485 application in a particular immigrant visa category.

If the EB-2 Worldwide numbers do retrogress (and remember, right now, this is just a warning from DOS, not a sure thing), it would also have an impact on the EB-2 numbers for China and India, considering that they will not be able to use any unused numbers from the worldwide visa numbers to help keep those dates where they are, or progress them. It may mean that those countries’ dates retrogress even further.

Those looking at filing an I-485 based on their EB-2 filing or approval should do so as soon as possible to ensure that they will not be locked out of filing the I-485 by retrogression. If you have questions or would like to set up an appointment with us to discuss the filing of the I-485 in your case, please use the following link: https://bit.ly/3NwfebH

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

September Visa Bulletin Summary

Overall dates are moving forward, but there are some noticeable categories that are lagging behind and not progressing as much, this includes Employment Based Third Preference which doesn’t move forward at all this month. Below is a summary of movement in most categories

Family Based Categories

F1: Moved forward one months to September 15, 2014 for most of the World EXCEPT Mexico (moved forward about 2 weeks to January 8, 1998) and the Philippines (moved forward 3.5 months to December 15, 2011).

F2A: Remained Current for the World.

F2B: Moved forward one month to July 8, 2015 for most of the World EXCEPT Mexico (moved forward about two weeks to April 8, 1999) and the Philippines (moved forward 4 months to August 1, 2011).

F3: Moved forward about two weeks to June 15, 2008 for most of the World EXCEPT Mexico (moved forward two weeks to August 1, 1996) and the Philippines (moved forward 3 months to February 15, 2002).

F4: Moved forward about three weeks to September 22, 2006 for most of the World EXCEPT India (moved forward about 2 weeks to March 8, 2005), Mexico (moved forward about 1 week to June 22, 1998) and the Philippines (moved forward 4 months to January 1, 2002.

Employment-Based Preference Categories

EB-1: Remains CURRENT for most of the world EXCEPT China and India (moved forward about 1 month to March 1, 2018). Currently India and China are at the same date as they are using the otherwise unused visa numbers from the EB-1 category, as other countries are well below normal usage, as well as visa number falling up from the EB-5 category (i.e. unused visa number from EB-5 fall up to the EB-1 category).

EB-2: Stayed Current for most of the world EXCEPT China (stayed at January 15, 2016) and India (stayed at July 8, 2009). As EB-2 visa numbers are being used and it appears that all visas in this category will be used by the end of the fiscal year, no movement forward was made.

EB-3: Stayed backlogged to April 1, 2019 for most of the world EXCEPT China (stayed at February 15, 2017) and India (stayed at October 1, 2009).

Please contact us with any questions or concerns. And please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

DOS to begin Reopening Consulates

ea34b40d2ef21c3e81584c04e4444f96fe76e7d610b9114291f6c1_1921.jpg The Department of State announced yesterday that it would begin a phased reopening of Consulates across the world. Please note, they will NOT be reopening all consulates at once, and cannot give specific dates as to when certain consulates will open or not. Each Consulate will announce their plans and re-opening dates on their individual websites. Please see below for the full press release:

Phased Resumption of Routine Visa Services

Last Updated: July 14, 2020

Phased Resumption of Routine Visa Services

The Department of State suspended routine visa services worldwide in March 2020 due to the COVID- 19 pandemic. As global conditions evolve, U.S. Embassies and Consulates are beginning a phased resumption of routine visa services.

The resumption of routine visa services will occur on a post-by-post basis, in coordination with the Department’s Diplomacy Strong framework for safely returning our workforce to Department facilities. U.S. Embassies and Consulates have continued to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services since March and will continue to do so as they are able. As post-specific conditions improve, our missions will begin providing additional services, culminating eventually in a complete resumption of routine visa services.

We are unable to provide a specific date for when each mission will resume specific visa services, or when each mission will return to processing at pre- Covid workload levels. See each individual U.S. Embassy or Consulate’s website for information regarding operating status and which services it is currently offering.

Unfortunately, this is about all the information the Department of State gave. Please do note that ALL Executive orders regarding immigration that have not yet expired are still in place. This includes the travel ban, the H-1B, J-1, visa ban as well as the immigrant visa bans as well as any Covid-19 bans.

Please call us with any questions. And please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Update on USCIS, DOS, SEVP and Covid-19

This is just an update on what is and is not happening with USCIS, DOS and SEVP during the Covid-19 pandemic. First, it is important to remember that things are changing so current USCIS policy may change very soon. To keep updated with current policies, you can go to the USCIS homepage at http://www.uscis.gov.

USCIS

Field Offices:

All USCIS field offices are closed to the public. This means that no biometrics appointments or interviews are being made at this time. This is in force through at least May 3, 2020 (we do not yet know if USCIS will extend this or not).

However, USCIS has made two important concessions during this period. First, they are allowing offices to reuse old biometrics for those who have applied to renew their EAD and AP status (Employment Authorization Documents and Advanced Parole). Second, USCIS has extended the time allowed to respond to Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notices of Intent to Deny, Notices of Intent to Revoke, as well as the time to appeal decisions (this applies to all such notices with an issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020, inclusive.). USCIS policy now states:

Any response to an RFE, NOID, NOIR, or NOIT received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice will be considered by USCIS before any action is taken. Any Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision will be considered by USCIS before it takes any action.

Service Centers:

USCIS service centers are open and adjudicating cases. Currently all service centers are open. However, it should be noted that some centers have closed temporarily in the past when a suspected case of Covid-19 has appeared in one of the employees. However, they have reopened the service centers within days.

Any applications that require biometrics appointments or interviews are on hold, however as the field offices are closed to the public (as are the biometrics centers). The only exception are EAD and AP applications for those who have had biometrics in the past. USCIS has issued a policy allowing those applications to go forward based upon the previous biometrics.

As stated above, USCIS has automatically extended the time to respond to requests for evidence, etc. for an additional 60 days after the due date.

Overseas Offices

Currently overseas offices are being closed on an as needed basis. Offices in Rome and Nairobi are currently closed, other offices are open if the Embassy itself is open. However, as most embassies are closed to the Public, so to are the USCIS offices at such embassies. They will continue to work and adjudicate cases as they can as long as in person interviews are not needed.

Department of State

Embassies

The Department of State has suspended routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services at all Embassies and Consulates until further notice (No specific date was given). Here is a copy of their announcement:

A. Suspension of Routine Visa Services.

– In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State is temporarily suspending routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Embassies and consulates will cancel all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments as of March 20, 2020. As resources allow, embassies and consulates will continue to provide emergency and mission critical visa services. Our overseas missions will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date at this time.

– This does not affect the Visa Waiver Program. See https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/faq?focusedTopic=Schengen%20Travel%20Proclamation for more information.

– Although all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments are cancelled, the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee is valid and may be used for a visa appointment in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment.

– We are aware of the importance of the H-2 program to the economy and food security of the United States and intend to continue processing H-2 cases as much as possible. For further information about the H-2 program, please visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/important-announcement-on-h2-visas.html

– Applicants with an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow the guidance provided at the Embassy’s website to request an emergency appointment. Examples of an urgent matter include air and sea crew, and medical personnel, particularly those working to treat or mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

J-1 Program

DOS has extended (automatically) the end date for certain J-1 non-immigrants in the United States. According to their memo DOS:

will now push a two-month extension to program end dates in SEVIS on active records with a program end date between April 1 – May 31, 2020 in order to provide exchange visitors the opportunity to complete either their educational or training programs, or continue to finalize travel plans to return home.”

Please remember this ONLY applies to programs with end dates between April 1 and May 31, 2020.

ICE AND SEVP (F-1 and M-1)

Here is a Link to SEVP policies for students at schools that have closed/moved to online coursework.

In summary, they have loosened rules in this regard to protect the status of those on F-1 and M-1 visas in the US whose schools have closed or are now just offering online classes. SEVP has stated that, under the circumstances outlines in the linked document, the status of such students will remain current and active as long as the procedures are followed. We urge you to review their guidance carefully if you are in such a situation.

As more changes are made we will update you as soon as possible.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Immigrant Visa Backlogs and Congress: Can They Fix the Problem?

Unknown Not everyone realizes but there are huge backlogs of cases for employment based immigrant visas. For about 1 year now the EB-1 category (Extra-ordinary Ability, Outstanding Professor and Researchers and Intra-Company Transferees) category has been backlogged about 1 year for most of the world and several years for China and about 4-5 years for India. The EB-2 category, while current for most of the world, has been backlogged about 4 years for China and about 10 years for India. The same is true of the EB-3 category. For those from India and China especially, the requirement of having to wait 10 years or more for a green card is hard on the family. It can cause children, who may be 2 or 3 when they arrive in the US, to age out before a green card can be obtained – forcing these now grown Children to either go home or get their own visas and begin their own processes. Furthermore, the employees are working for years without hope of major pay increases or promotions, for fear of being fired (if they ask and are denied) and loosing their place in line.

Congress has been looking at ways of fixing this. The most popular bill currently, that almost passed the Senate, would alleviate the issue by removing the per country limitations currently in place for employment based immigrant visas. Currently, all employment based immigrant visas are divided among all countries in the world evenly. While the Department of State can reallocate some visas based upon usage patterns, no country can get more than 7% of the immigrant visas in any given category. That means, for example, for EB-1 visas India can only get about 3,000 visas per year (and that includes visas for all dependents of the primary applicant (spouses and children). The bill in congress would remove those limitation in steps and would put in place protections so those from other countries who already applied in the employment categories when the bill was filed, would not loose their place in line. However, the effect of this bill would hit people from EVERY country.

Within 4-9 years all countries would be facing major backlogs in all categories. While the current backlog would be cleaned out by then, there would still be significant delays for everyone. Another bill, in addition to removing the per country limitations would also remove dependents from the visa count. This means a family of 6 or a family of 4 would be counted as just one immigrant visa against the quota. This would greatly help to reduce the backlog and would go a long way towards ameliorating the issues caused by just removing the per country cap. This bill, however, would also raise the number of employment based immigrant visas, a portion of the bill that is unlikely to pass this Congress or, even if it were, to be signed by this President. There are currently other Senators working at removing the increase in immigrant visas from the bill to try to make it more passable.

Overall, while all these bills try to tackle this issue, the problems with our current immigration system are fairly widespread. Our immigration laws were written over 30 years ago now in many cases, and longer in some. Many things have changed since then and a major overhaul is certainly in order. However, because of the current polarization of our political system, it is doubtful that any such major reform could be passed anytime soon. Therefore, smaller fixes are all we can hope for in the near term. Hopefully congress can get together and put together a bill that will help everyone and help prevent the current backlogs we have.

Those interested in this issue can read a good article in The Washington Post here.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Update on the new 90 Day Rule and USCIS

Immigration Lawyer in Houston New State Department 90-Day Rule Back in. we wrote an article about the Department of State adopting a new rule on inadmissibility called the 90-day rule. This replaced their previous 30/60 rule. For a full rundown on the change in the regulation and what it means, see the article we wrote here. Basically, the 90-day rule means that any activity contrary to non-immigrant intent done within 90 days of entry on any visa that requires such intent will be evidence of fraud (i.e. that you did not have non-immigrant intent when you were admitted to the United States). At the time, we were not certain what USCIS’ stance on the new rule would be. Now, we know.

Just recently USCIS amended it’s Adjudicator’s Handbook to include the following:

3. The U.S Department of State’s 90-Day Rule

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) developed a 90-day rule to assist consular officers in evaluating misrepresentation in cases involving a person who violated his or her nonimmigrant status or whose conduct is or was inconsistent with representations made to either the consular officer concerning his or her intentions at the time of the visa application or to the immigration officer at the port of entry.

The 90-day rule is not a “rule” in the sense of being a binding principle or decision. The rule is simply an analytical tool that may assist DOS officers in determining whether an applicant’s actions support a finding of fraud or misrepresentation in a particular case. This DOS 90-day rule is not binding on USCIS. Officers should continue to evaluate cases for potential fraud indicators and, when appropriate, refer cases to Fraud Detection and National Securityaccording to existing procedures.

While at first blush this may look like they are not adopting this rule, closer examination shows us that this is not necessarily the case. The language used above is the SAME language that USCIS used to explain the previous 30/60 day rule. So it seems that USCIS will now use the 90-day rule (albeit as a guiding principle more than as a rule). However, as decisions by USCIS can be appealed to both the Administrative as well as the Civil Courts, it is important to remember that the rule is more nuanced if you are in the US rather than outside the US (where the DOS can make any decision they feel fit and there is no appeal).

While there have been no cases yet on the 90-day rule, there have been many on the 30/60-day rule. Thos cases may help demonstrate what the Administrative Courts (at least) are going to do. First, the Administrative Courts have fairly consistently found that the application of such a rule, although not required, CAN be done because they were persuaded by the Department of State’s reasoning in developing the rule. They have found in many cases that the application of the rule does create the presumption of a misrepresentation, but have also found in certain cases, that the evidence submitted by the petitioner has overcome that presumption. The Courts have also found (fairly consistently) that the marriage to a US Citizen and subsequent filing of a green card application, even if done within the 30/60 day time period, in and of itself, is not enough to find a misrepresentation or fraud. In other words, the positives of being married to a US Citizen outweigh any negatives in this type of case – so unless there are other negatives, such cases should not be denied solely based upon the activities related to the marriage and immigration process that were conducted within 30 or 60 days of entry.

While we cannot know what will happen until cases are actually decided by the Administrative Courts specifically on the application of the 90-day rule, I think it is prudent to continue to follow past rulings in this area and to assume that the Courts will allow USCIS to use this rule as a guideline.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Update from Charlie Oppenheim on Immigrant Visa Availability

Unknown Charlie talked with the American Immigration Lawyers Association again at the end of March. Here are some updates that he gave on potential movements of priority dates in the future. To summarize: EB-1 usage is high, not a lot of movement. EB-2 usage is normal so steady movement. For more details, see below.

Data Used By Charlie and Possible Changes in Dates

First, in order to better understand how Charlie determines movement on a monthly basis, it is good to know what data sources he uses. First, Charlie will look at the performance of each category over recent months (visas used, movement on dates, etc.). In addition, Charlie will also use data given to him from USCIS on the number of cases pending at the National Benefits Center and at local offices (please do note that this data is often not totally accurate). Following an early April 2019 meeting at the National Benefits Center, Charlie will have additional data upon which to base the Final Action Dates in the May 2019 Visa Bulletin. If that data demonstrates shifts in the demand trends, Charlie may alter his projections for Final Action Date movements through the second half of the fiscal year.

Family-Based Preference Categories

According to Charlie, movements in the family-based preference categories will remain consistent with those in recent visa bulletins. However, he cautions that we should not get too accustomed to consistent rapid forward movement in these categories. The issue is that Charlie feels that the lack of apparent demand in many of these categories, which is causing the dates to advance more quickly than usual, may eventually result in a great amount of demand materializing all at once. If this were to occur, it could result in an abrupt retrogression and lead to volatility in some categories. In particular, there has been unusually rapid movement in FB-3 and FB-4 Philippines, each of which advance six months in the April 2019 Visa Bulletin. Those who practice heavily in the area of family-based immigration should consult “Section D. Final Action Date Movement” on page 8 in the visa bulletin for more details on Final Action Date movements.

Employment-Based Preference Categories

EB-1:

Reported demand levels across all countries in the EB-1 category remains high. In absolute terms, EB-1 has used more total visa numbers this fiscal year than any other employment-based category, with usage up to 25% higher than that of EB-2, and EB-3. The increased demand for EB-1 Worldwide numbers is negatively impacting EB-1 China and EB-1 India, which in the past have normally benefitted from the availability of otherwise unused EB-1 numbers from other countries.

According to Charlie, do not expect any movement for EB-1 China and EB-1 India Final Action Dates. Movement for both is only possible if EB-1 Worldwide demand slows down to a sufficient level that would allow otherwise unused numbers to be allocated to these countries. Charlie is watching the demand trends in this category very carefully. He cannot yet conclude whether this elevated demand represents a bubble that will be processed and then quickly dissipate, or whether it represents an ongoing consistent demand trend.

EB-2 Worldwide:

Charlie mentioned that only about half of the EB-2 Worldwide numbers for this fiscal year have been used, which is approximately where he would like that number to be. If the current demand trend continues, EB-2 Worldwide should remain current throughout the FY2019.

EB-2 and EB-3 India Remain Flipped:

According to Charlie the same movement patterns as the past couple of months are expected for the foreseeable future (he will update if this changes). EB-2 advanced only 3 days in the April Bulletin and EB-2 advanced a full month, surpassing EB-2 India.

EB-2 and EB-3 China:

In contrast to India, EB-2 China remains ahead of EB-3 China. In April 2019, EB-2 China advances three months to a Final Action Date of April 1, 2016, and EB-3 China advances three weeks to a Final Action Date of August 1, 2015. Like India, these trends are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

EB-3 Philippines:

Rapid advancement continues for EB-3 Philippines in April, as the category leaps forward three months for a Final Action Date of March 1, 2018. Although a continuing lack of demand will create additional forward movement, be cautioned to not expect this rapid advancement to continue indefinitely.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

Case Processing Times are Rising as Number of Cases being Processed Drops

Arrows-Up-Down-2 Many of you have probably noticed the increase in processing times at USCIS lately – I-140s are taking a long time, H-1Bs and other changes of status applications are talking almost a year to process, and I-485s are now well over a year to process as well. Well, the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association has reviewed the processing statistics released by USCIS and come up with some startling conclusions.

First, in terms of how long it is taking USCIS to adjudicate applications, it appears that, overall, processing times have increased 19% in fiscal 2018 alone (that is October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018). This does not include the tremendous growth in processing times throughout 2017 either. Since this time, USCIS has released further statistics showing that, in the first quarter of 2019 alone, processing times have grown another 11-25% depending on the application type. This is affecting individuals and businesses alike.

Now, one would think that such increases would be matched by increases in the number of cases filed with USCIS. However, if one made that assumption they would be wrong. In fiscal year 2018 the number of cases filed actually dropped almost 13%, from 8,530,722 in fiscal year 2017 to 7,527,851 in fiscal year 2018.

So, to summarize, the number of cases USCIS is dealing with dropped almost 13% BUT processing times increased an average of 11%. It appears that agency policies such as requiring interviews on all employment based adjustment of status applications and the removal of the policy allowing deference to certain prior case determinations have adversely affected the ability of USCIS to adjudicate cases in a timely manner. Imagine if USCIS had to deal with the same volume of cases it had received in 2017, or more. Case processing times would probably have risen at an even steeper level than they have.

If the above practices actually made us safer, that would be one thing. However the reality is that they are just window dressing, things that can be used politically to show the administration is cracking down, when, in reality they do little to actually combat fraud or help catch immigration violators or criminals. Hopefully thinks will change and these delays will start reversing.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.

March 2019 Visa Bulletin Released

Unknown Recently, the Department of State and Charlie Oppenheim released the new March 2019 Visa Bulletin. Below is a summary of the movement in each category.

Family-Based cases:

F1: Final Action dates moved forward to about a month for most countries – October 22, 2011 for All Other Areas, China and India. Mexico had no movement and stayed at August 1, 1997. The Philippines moved forward about two weeks to April 1, 2007. Dates for Filing move to April 22, 2012 for All Areas, China and India, and stayed at September 22, 1999 for Mexico and moved to April 1, 2008 for the Philippines.

F2A: Final Action dates moved forward to a little over a month for most countries – January 8, 2017 for All Areas except Mexico, which moved to December 15, 2016. Dates for Filing moved forward slightly to December 8, 2017 for All Areas.

F2B: Final Action dates for most areas moved forward about three months – All Other Areas, China and India all moved to August 1, 2012. Mexico moved forward two months to September 22, 1997 and the Philippines only moved forward 3 weeks to July 22, 2007. Dates For Filing stayed at June 22, 2014 for All Other Areas, China and India. Mexico moved forward about 4 months to February 8, 1998, and the Philippines moved forward about one week to January 22, 2008.

F3: Final Action dates moved forward only about 2 weeks for All Other Areas, India and China to September 8, 2006. Mexico moved forward about 3 weeks to January 15, 1996 and the Philippines moved forward almost 4.5 months to January 1, 1996. Dates for Filing moved forward about 1 month for All Other Areas, China and India to March 1, 2007. For Mexico, it stayed at June 8, 2000, and the Philippines moved forward 1 month to September 1, 1997.

F4: Final Action Dates moved forward 3 months to September 22, 2005 for All Other Areas and China. It moved forward about 2 weeks to July 8, 2004 for India. Mexico had no movement and stayed at February 8, 1998. The Philippines moved forward about 3 months to January 1, 1996. Dates for Filing mostly moved forward about 1 week (to June 22, 2006 for All Other Areas and China, to February 8, 2005 for India and to November 8, 1998 for Mexico). The Philippines moved forward about 1 month to January 8, 1997.

Employment-Based Categories

(Please note, because USCIS has consitently stated that employment-based categories will use Final Action Dates we will not discuss the Dates for Filing)

EB1: Moved forward about 1 month – to January 1, 2018 for most countries except India and China which moved to February 22, 2017.

EB2: Stayed Current for most countries except China (moved 3 months to January 1, 2016) and India (moved 3 days to April 9, 2009).

EB3: Stayed Current for most countries except China (moved about 1 week to July 8, 2015) and India (moved forward 1 month to May 22, 2009 – remaining ahead of the EB-2 date for India). The Philippines moved forward 4 months to December 1, 2017.

Next month there should be another update from Charlie Oppenheim on future movement in all categories. Please do contact me with any questions.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer, not a blog. Thank you.

USCIS Reaches FY 2019 H-1B Visa Cap And Finishes Count

images USCIS announced on April 11 that they had received enough applications to fill the FY 2019 H-1B Cap. Just today they announced that they had completed the counting nad selection process. We should begin to receive receipts first, then returned applications that were not selected. Here is the text of the press release from USCIS:

On April 11, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated cap and the U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2019.

USCIS received 190,098 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 2, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS announced on April 6, that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 and the master’s cap of 20,000. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees unless the petition is a prohibited multiple filing.

USCIS conducted the selection process for the master’s cap first. All unselected master’s cap petitions then became part of the random selection process for the 65,000 cap.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted towards the FY 2019 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;

Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;

Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and

Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Please remember, as always, this blog does not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult with a lawyer instead of a blog. Thank you.