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Release Date 

01/12/2024

Will Also Introduce Online Filing for I-129 H-1B Petitions and H-1B I-907 Premium Processing Service 

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced the upcoming launch of a package of customer experience improvements for H-1B cap season. The measures are expected to increase efficiency and ease collaboration for organizations and their legal representatives.

Release Date 

01/24/2024

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced an update to its Policy Manual providing that USCIS, in discretion and under certain conditions, may excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner.

Release Date 

12/19/2022

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is providing information for nonimmigrant workers whose employment has terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. These workers may have several options for remaining in the United States in a period of authorized stay based on existing rules and regulations.

USCIS recently updated the following form:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker

11/02/2022 12:05 PM EDT

Edition Date: 11/02/22. Starting Feb. 27, 2023, USCIS will only accept the 11/02/22 edition. Until then, you can also use the 05/31/22 and 03/10/21 editions. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.

Release Date 

01/12/2023

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.

Introduction

These Questions & Answers address the automatic extension of F-1 student status in the United States for certain students with pending or approved H-1B petitions (indicating a request for change of status from F-1 to H-1B) for an employment start date of Oct. 1, 2010 under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 H-1B cap.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the H-1B cap?

A: The cap is the congressionally-mandated limit on the number of individuals who may be granted initial H-1B status or visas during each fiscal year. For FY 2011, the cap is 65,000.

The H-1B Program

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

For more information about the H-1B program, see the link to the left under temporary workers for H-1B Specialty Occupations, DOD Cooperative Research and Development Project Workers, and Fashion Models.

How USCIS Determines if an H-1B Petition is Subject to the FY 2011 Cap

This report examines the number and characteristics of nonimmigrant admissions in fiscal year 2009.

 Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC
May 24, 2010

On May 20, 2010, the Department of State published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to increase nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, also called the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee, and Border Crossing Card (BCC) fees. The interim final rule also establishes a tiered structure with separate fees for different nonimmigrant visa categories. The new fees are scheduled to go into effect on June 4, 2010.

Release Date 

01/30/2024

Announces FY 2025 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period and Online Filing of H-1B Petitions