U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on May 4, 2015, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected via a computer-generated random process. USCIS will commence returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings—233,000 received in the first five days of April 2015—the time frame for returning these petitions is unknown at this time. In addition, USCIS has requested for petitioners to not inquire about the status of submitted cap-subject petitions until they have received a receipt notice or until an unselected petition has been returned. USCIS will issue an announcement once all petitions not selected have been returned.
Those organizations whose H-1B cap cases were not selected may want to consider seeking legal counsel to identify alternatives to the H-1B visa.
Duane Morris immigration attorneys will continue to monitor the latest developments and assist organizations in identifying alternatives to the H-1B visa.
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact any of the attorneys in our Immigration Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.
