Category: H-1B

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on March 17, 2015, entitled “Immigration Reforms Needed to Protect Skilled American Workers.” The hearing focused on the effects of the H-1B visa program and other temporary worker programs on skilled U.S. workers. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the committee, charged that the H-1B program is “highly… Read More

A group of senators sent a letter on April 9, 2015, to Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and Labor Secretary Thomas Perez seeking an investigation of the H-1B program. The group, led by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), expressed concerns about U.S. workers being displaced by H-1B workers… Read More

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced yesterday the H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 has been reached. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. USCIS will use a computer program to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps… Read More

On April 1, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. USCIS said it expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap during the first five business days of this year’s program. The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) recommends filing during the… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released guidance (PDF) on the adjudication of H-1B petitions for nursing position. The memorandum assists USCIS officers in determining whether a nursing position meets the definition of a specialty occupation. The memo supersedes any previous guidance on the subject. The memo notes that the private sector is increasingly… Read More