H-1B season has begun

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting new H-1B petitions On April 1, 2016, for the annual H-1B visa quota of 65,000 (plus 20,000 for holders of advanced U.S. degrees).If more than 65,000 petitions are received in the first five business days of April, as is expected, USCIS will conduct a lottery to determine which petitions will be selected for the quota and reviewed. We anticipate a lottery will be required this year as was required last year.

The annual quota, however, does not apply to individuals currently in H-1B visa status, individuals who need to extend their stay/change employers, or to individuals seeking employment with exempt nonprofit institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, government research organizations, etc.