A blog about U.S. immigration matters by Paul Szeto, a former INS attorney and an experienced immigration lawyer. We serve clients in all U.S. states and overseas countries. (All information is not legal advice and is subject to change without prior notice.)

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Thursday, March 17, 2016

USCIS to Accept H-1B Filings on April 1st; Premium Clock will begin by May 16, 2016



USCIS formally announced yesterday that the agency will begin accepting applications for H-1B cap visas for FY 2017 on April 1st, 2016.  Applications filed before April 1st will be rejected.  By law, the regular H-1B visa cap is 65,000.  There are 20,000 additional H-1B visa numbers for individuals with a U.S. earned graduate degree.  USCIS expects to receive more than 65,000 petitions during the first five business days of this year’s program.  A visa lottery will be conducted to select applications for further processing.  Petitions not selected will be returned. 

For premium processing services, USCIS announced that the agency will begin the 15-day premium processing clock no later than May 16, 2016.  USCIS will issue a decision (not necessarily approval) within 15 days in premium cases or issue a refund of the premium fee. 

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