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  4. H-1B visa application process for FY 2019 to begin from April 2; premium processing temporarily suspended

H-1B visa application process for FY 2019 to begin from April 2; premium processing temporarily suspended

The suspension of premium processing of all H-1B petitions which are subject to the annual caps is expected to last until September 10, 2018.

India TV News Desk Edited by: India TV News Desk New Delhi Updated on: March 21, 2018 16:36 IST
H-B visa application process to begin from April 2
H-B visa application process to begin from April 2

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today said that the process for accepting petitions for H1-B visas for the fiscal year 2019 will begin on April 2.

The US fiscal year begins on October 1, 2018 

Meanwhile, the agency has temporarily suspended the premium processing of all such work visas. 

The suspension of premium processing of all H-1B petitions which are subject to the annual caps is expected to last until September 10, 2018. 

These visas are popular among Indian IT professionals as they allow US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. 

During this time, the USCIS said it will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the fiscal 2019 cap. 

“We will notify the public before resuming premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions or making any other premium processing updates,” it said. 

At the same time, the USCIS said while premium processing is suspended, a petitioner may submit a request to expedite an FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petition if it meets the expedited criteria. 

The USCIS said that the temporary suspension of premium processing will help it reduce overall H-1B processing time. 

By temporarily suspending premium processing, the USCIS said it will be able to process long-pending petitions, which it has currently been unable to process due to the high volume of incoming petitions and the significant surge in premium processing requests over the past few years; and prioritise adjudication of H-1B extension of status cases that are nearing the 240-day mark. 

The 15-day H1B Visa Premium Processing Service provides American employers with the opportunity to obtain faster processing of an H1B petition to meet their needs for employing and sponsoring a foreign worker. However, there is an additional filing fee for the service. 

As an H-1B non-immigrant, the applicant may be admitted for a period of up to three years. The time period may be extended, but generally cannot go beyond a total of six years. However, there are some exceptions to it. 

The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the cap. 

Additionally, H1-B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher education or its affiliated or related nonprofit entities or a nonprofit 

research organisation or a government research organisation are not subject to this numerical cap. 

According to the USCIS, between 2007 and 2017, it received the maximum number of 2.2 million H-1B petitions from high-skilled Indians. India was followed by China with 301,000 H-1B petitions during the same period.

(PTI inputs)

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