Preparing for the H1B Cap Season

Preparing for the H1B Cap Season

The H-1B visa program is for foreign workers serving at a professional level in specialty occupations. There are 65,000 H1B spots set aside in 2017 for foreign nationals working for U.S. companies that meet the requirement of at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, and 20,000 spots for those with U.S. master’s degrees.

Filing for the available H1B spots for next year begins on April 1, 2016. In the past two years, the cap was exceeded in the first five business days of the filing period. Current or prospective future employees in the U.S. under any of the following categories should be identified for an H1B visa:

• F-1 student visas
• TN/E-3 visas for Australian/Canadian/Mexican nationals;
• L-1B visas
• J-1 exchange visitor visas
• L-2/H-4 dependent visas
• E-1/E-2 treaty visas

In addition, prospective employees living overseas will require sponsorship, which is usually obtained via an H-1B visa.

Starting the H-1B Filing Process

The demand for H1B visas is expected to be even stronger than last year, so employers need to act quickly and work with an experienced business immigration attorney to meet the April 1 deadline. There are several steps that must be taken by employers before filing an H1B visa petition, which can take several weeks:

• Register company with the Department of Labor (DOL)
• Post the required DOL notices
• Obtain DOL certification of a Labor Condition Application

In order to avoid the loss of legal status and work authorization for employees, Florida businesses are urged to begin the H1B visa petition preparation process now with the help of a qualified Florida business immigration attorney.

A Florida immigration lawyer can help employers understand the process for obtaining resident status in the U.S. for employees. Contact one of the experienced Florida immigration attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com.

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