USCIS in Atlanta, GA

On Monday, USCIS issued a press release confirming that they will accept new H-1B cap petitions beginning on April 1^st. USCIS announced that they will use a lottery to decide which petitions are accepted for processing if more than 65,000 H-1B petitions (and 20,000 Master’s degree petitions) are received by April 7^th. The press release also mentioned that USCIS will begin premium processing H-1B applications no later than April 28^th—which delays the start of the 15-day processing time for cases filed under Premium Processing.

For U.S. employers and potential H-1B holders, this waiting period is stressful, to say the least. Employers who rely on H-1B workers may need to consider alternative hiring solutions if their H-1B petitions are not accepted under the cap. H-1B candidates are left with an undecided future: will they be able to come to (or remain in) the U.S. or will they have to look for a job elsewhere?

During this waiting period, both employers and employees can start to think about alternative solutions to pursue in case H-1B petitions are not accepted by USCIS. Here’s a brief summary of alternative visa types to consider:

H-1B Alternatives

H-1B1

• Applicant must meet H-1B requirements
• Only for citizens of Chile and Singapore
• Usually valid for 12 months, extensions are possible

L-1 (Intra-company transferee)

• For employees at a foreign entity of an organization coming to work for that organization (or an affiliated organization) in the U.S.
• Employee must either be managerial/executive level or have “specialized knowledge” of the company
• Usually valid for 3 years, extensions are possible

TN

• Only for citizens of Mexico and Canada
• Employee must fall into one of the NAFTA-approved occupational categories
• Usually valid for 1-3 years, extensions are possible

E-3

• Applicant must meet H-1B requirements
• Only for citizens of Australia
• Usually valid for 2 years, extensions are possible

F-1 OPT STEM Extension

• For students already on an F-1 visa working under OPT
• Must be pursuing or have completed a STEM eligible degree program (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
• Employer must be enrolled in E-Verify
• Usually valid for 17 months

These are just some of the options available as alternatives to H-1B visas. Every situation is unique. For more information about visa and immigration assistance please contact us here at VISANOW. We would be happy to help!