Immigration Blog

What Employers Need to Know About the FY2024 H-1B Cap Season!

                H-1B visa program background  The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to petition to obtain a work visa (H-1B) for highly specialized foreign workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, and others.   To petition for these workers to obtain a new H-1B visa under the H-1B visa […]

Continue Reading

How Do I Complete the I-9 Verification of an F-1 Student Under the H-1B Cap-Gap?

Some F-1 students whose H-1B petitions were timely filed with an October 1 start date and requested change of status are eligible for a cap-gap extension of status and employment authorization. The cap-gap is the period between when the F-1 student status would end and the H-1B status begins on October 1. What Does the “Cap-Gap” Entail? Qualifying students are legally able to live and work in the United States during the “cap-gap” period. The […]

Continue Reading

Are You Eligible for the 60-Day Grace Period?

Fact pattern: Our top candidate is on H-1B status and says his prior job was terminated. He is on his 60-day grace period and anxious to start working for us. How does the H-1B 60-day grace period work?  What do we need to know to hire this candidate?  Here are some key things to know about the 60-day grace period.  What is the 60- day grace period? First, let me say – this is a […]

Continue Reading

How Does the 240-day Employment Authorization Extension Work?

When an employer timely files a petition for an employee in H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, E-3 or TN status to extend his/her employment in the same status, the employee may continue to work for the same employer for an additional 240 days beyond the expiration of their current status, while the petition is pending adjudication (it does not need to be approved) or until USCIS adjudicates the case, whichever is sooner. To qualify for the […]

Continue Reading

Book Excerpt: Benefits of an O-1 Visa over an H-1B

Considering the limitations of the H-1B visa, we encourage our clients to consider alternative work visas. One of the most interesting of these is the O-1 visa. What’s so great about the O-1 visa? Here is an excerpt from the “O-1 Visa for Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievements” chapter in my book Beyond the H-1B: A Guide to Work Visa Options for Employers, Foreign Nationals, and Graduating Students, which is available for purchase on […]

Continue Reading

Check Out This H-1B Flowchart and Get Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions about the Process

To answer all of the questions we’ve been receiving, we’re sharing our H-1B flowchart to give you a simple overview of a complex process. You’ll find it below, but before we get to that, let’s tell you what we know — or at least what we’re pretty sure of: Will there be an H-1B lottery this year? We expect that, yes, there will be another H-1B lottery this year based on historical data, demand patterns, […]

Continue Reading