H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they have received enough electronic registrations during the initial period to reach the FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations for the H-1B cap. The agency randomly selected from among the electronic registrations that were properly submitted. USCIS will notify petitioners with selected registrations no later than March 31, 2020, that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the selected registration. Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each registration (i.e, for each beneficiary registered):

  • Submitted: A registration status may continue to show “Submitted” after the initial selection process has been completed. “Submitted” registrations will remain in consideration for selection until the end of the fiscal year, at which point all registration statuses will be Selected, Not Selected, or Denied.

  • Selected: Selected to file an FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petition.

  • Denied: A duplicate registration was submitted by the same registrant for the same beneficiary, or a payment method was declined and not reconciled. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations you submitted for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.

USCIS notes that only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2021, and only for the beneficiary listed in the selected registration notice.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 22, 2021: USCIS announced they have received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa US advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) for FY 2021 cap. The agency announced they completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants’ online accounts and the status for registrations properly submitted for the FY 2021 cap but that were not selected will now show as: “Not Selected: Not selected for this fiscal year.”

USCIS Announces Flexibility for Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny (UPDATED MARCH 31, 2020)

UPDATE MAY 4, 2020: USCIS has announced additional flexibility for agency requests.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency is adopting a measure to assist applicants and petitioners responding to requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs) dated between March 1 and May 1, 2020. Applicants and petitioners who receive an RFE or NOID dated between March 1 and May 1, 2020 and submit any responses within sixty calendar days after the response deadline specified in the RFE or NOID will have the response considered by USCIS before any action is taken. The agency notes they are adopting several measures to protect their workforce and community at this time as well as to minimize the immigration consequences for those seeking immigration benefits during this time. USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops.

UPDATE MARCH 31, 2020: USCIS has clarified that the outlined flexibility regarding submitting RFEs and NOIDs also applies to certain Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) and Notices of Intent to Terminate (NOIT) regional investment centers, as well as certain filing date requirements for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion. Specifically, the flexibility applies to an RFE, NOID, NOIR, NOIT or appealable decision within AAO jurisdiction and the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is between March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020, inclusive.

USCIS specifies that any response to an RFE, NOID, NOIR, or NOIT received within sixty calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice “will be considered by USCIS before any action is taken.” Additionally, any Form I-290B received up to sixty calendar days from the date of the decision will also be considered by USCIS before the agency takes any action. We will post any additional updates from USCIS as we receive them.

USCIS Announces Flexibility in Submitting Required Signatures During COVID-19 National Emergency

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that due to the ongoing COVID-19 National Emergency announced by President Trump on March 13, 2020, the agency will accept all benefit forms and documents with reproduced original signatures, including for the Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, for submissions dated March 21, 2020, and going forward. This means that a document may be scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced as long as the copy is of an original document containing an original handwritten signature, unless otherwise specified. For forms that require an “original ‘wet’ signature,” per form instructions, USCIS will accept electronically reproduced original signatures for the duration of the national emergency. Applicants who submit documents bearing an electronically reproduced original signature should also keep the original documents containing the “wet” signature since USCIS, at any time, can request the original documents. If upon request these original documents are not provided to USCIS, this “could negatively impact the adjudication of the immigration benefit.” The agency notes that this temporary change only applies to signatures and that all other instructions should be followed when completing and submitting a form.

USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for All I-129 and I-140 Petitions Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced effective March 20, 2020, the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). USCIS will process any petition with a previously accepted Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, in accordance with the premium processing service criteria. The agency notes, however, that they will not be able to send notices using pre-paid envelopes and instead only send batch-printed notices. Petitioners who have already filed a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, or Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, using the premium processing service and who do not receive any response on their case within the fifteen-day-calendar period will receive a refund, consistent with 8 CFR 103.7(e). USCIS will notify the public when premium processing returns.   

USCIS will reject the I-907 and return the $1,440 filing fee for all petitions requesting premium processing that were mailed before March 20 but not yet accepted. The temporary suspension of premium processing includes petitions filed for the following categories:

  • I-129: E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, R-1, TN-1 and TN-2; and

  • I-140: EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3.

This suspension includes new premium processing requests for all H-1B petitions, including H-1B cap-subject petitions for fiscal year 2021, petitions from previous fiscal years, and all H-1B cap exempt petitions. A temporary suspension of premium processing for H-1B FY 2021 cap cases was previously enacted, and this announcement expands upon and supersedes it. USCIS.gov publishes current Form I-129 and I-140 regular processing times on their website.

Initial H-1B Electronic Registration Period Closed March 20

The initial electronic registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B numerical allocations closed at noon Eastern Time on March 20, 2020. To be considered in the initial selection process, electronic registrations must have been properly submitted before noon on March 20. If USCIS has received enough registrations during the initial registration period, the agency will conduct the lottery to randomly select the number of registrations they project are needed to reach the FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations.

After the lottery, the agency will send selection notifications via users’ online accounts no later than March 31, 2020. Selected registrants will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration. The H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed within the filing period indicated on the relevant selection notice. The period for filing the H-1B cap subject petition will be at least ninety days. For more information, visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.

USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for FY 2021 Cap-Subject Petitions

US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) this week announced the temporary suspension of premium processing for fiscal year (FY) 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions. When USCIS begins accepting cap-subject petitions on April 1 (for cases selected in the lottery), petitioners filing these FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions will not be able to request premium processing. USCIS will reject any Form I-907 concurrently filed with a cap-subject H-1B Form I-129 until the premium processing service resumes for FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions. 

Similar to previous years, premium processing for cap cases will resume in a two-phased approach:

  1. The first phase will include FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions, including master’s cap cases, requesting a change of status from F-1 nonimmigrant status. USCIS will resume premium processing for these cases no later than May 27, 2020. To be eligible to file a case via premium processing as part of this first group, petitioners must select response “b” for Item 4 in Part 2 of Form I-129, and indicate “F-1” for Item 5, “Current Nonimmigrant Status” in Part 3 of Form I-129;

  2. The second phase includes all other FY 2021 cap-subject petitions. Premium processing will be available for these cases on June 29, 2020, at the earliest.  

USCIS claims that the temporary suspension will help them “reduce overall H-1B processing times,” and the agency will notify the public with a confirmed date for both phases for resuming premium processing for the FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions.

Please note that this suspension only applies to FY 2021 cap cases. At this time, premium processing is available for H-1B petitions that are exempt from the cap, including extension of stay requests, as well as other types of visa petitions.

US Embassy/Consulate Visa Appointment Cancellations (UPDATED JULY 20, 2020)

UPDATE JULY 20, 2020: US Embassies/Consulates around the world will begin the phased resumption of some routine visa services, with some resuming services as of July 15, 2020.

Many US Embassies and Consulates around the world have canceled routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa appointments in response to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). In this post, we have included cancellation information for select US Embassies and Consulates. The US State Department also has a dedicated page with links to each nation’s US embassy that provides specific information regarding COVID-19 including information regarding health services, recommendations, and, if applicable, notification of the reduction or suspension of visa services. While not every embassy page is updated, many have useful and relevant information for travelers. Additionally, The Gate, a blog focusing on travel, has provided a full list of countries and territories that have travel restrictions as a result of COVID-19. 

Argentina 
Effective March 16, the US Embassy in Buenos Aires has cancelled routine nonimmigrant visa appointments. They will resume routine visa services as soon as possible. The MRV fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment. Travelers who have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow the guidance provided under the “Expedited Appointments” tab on the embassy webpage page to request an emergency appointment.

Canada
Effective March 17, 2020, the US Embassy and all Consulates General in Canada have cancelled all routine nonimmigrant visa appointments. They do not know when they will resume appointments.  Travelers who have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately should follow guidance provided at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ca/niv to request an emergency appointment. The Consulate General in Montreal at this time continues to process immigrant visas but depending on staffing capacity and host government restrictions, they may reduce routine immigrant visa appointments, and will notify applicants if necessary to reschedule.

Chile
Nonnimigrant visa processing is suspended effective March 16 through March 31, 2020. Those who have an urgent need to travel immediately should follow guidance provided at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-cl/niv/information/faqs#need_earlier_appt to request an emergency appointment.

France
Effective March 16, 2020, the United States Embassy in Paris, France is cancelling routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments. The embassy will resume these routine visa services as soon as possible but they are unable to provide a specific date at this time. Note that the MRV fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment. Applicants who need to travel immediately because of an urgent matter should follow instructions here, or contact fae_contactus+fr+mrv+en@visaops.net or call +33 1 82 88 29 57 (if in France) or +1 703 543 9342 (if in the US), to request an emergency appointment.

Mexico
US Embassy and Consulates in Mexico have indefinitely suspended all nonimmigrant visa and immigrant visa appointments. Biometric appointments will be cancelled via email. Nonimmigrant visa applications will be accepted on a limited basis for emergency travel only and applicants should make the request for an emergency appointment at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-MX/niv. For case-specific inquiries for nonimmigrant visas, please contact the Embassy at mx.usembassy.gov/es/visas-es/contactenos-form. For immigrant visa inquiries, applicants can find instructions on how to contact staff at ais.usvisa-info.com/es-mx/iv/information/contact_us.

The Netherlands 
The US Consulate Amsterdam will limit consular services as of March 17th, in response to the Dutch Government’s March 15 decree establishing country-wide school and cultural closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, all scheduled regular appointments are cancelled until further notice. Emergency visa processing will continue. For updates on COVID-19 please consult the embassy website and https://www.rivm.nl/en.

United Kingdom
The US Embassy in London is cancelling all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa appointments effective March 17, 2020. The MRV fee is valid and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased within one year of the date of payment. At this time there is no indication when appointments will resume. Applicants who recently had appointments at the Embassy have reported that the consular officer told them the Embassy is not printing visas at this time due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Switzerland
Effective March 16, 2020, US Embassy Bern has suspended routine consular services. The embassy will also be closed on March 17 and resume limited operations on March 18.  Emergency American Citizens Services, including emergency passport issuance, continue to be available. Please visit the embassy website for additional information or to schedule an appointment. The US Consular Agencies in Geneva and Zurich will remain closed effective immediately until further notice.

 We will post additional updates as we receive them.