VISA-PROS
The H-1B visa has a yearly cap of 65,000 visas plus 20,000 for people who graduated from U.S.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) July 04, 2014
U.S. and international companies are preparing for H-1B season with the H-1B visa filing deadline of April 4 looming.
“Companies who want to hire foreign professionals to perform professional level positions must file by the first week of April to secure a spot in the government’s H-1B program,” said Karen Weinstock, an Atlanta immigration lawyer, and managing attorney of Weinstock Immigration Lawyers. “Unfortunately Congress set a cap on the H-1B visa many years ago and did not increase it to meet current market demand for foreign talent, especially in technology and engineering, therefore we foresee a shortage of visa supply this year”, said the immigration attorney in Georgia.
The H-1B visa has a yearly cap of 65,000 visas plus 20,000 for people who graduated from U.S. universities with advanced degrees. “The problem is that this quota is for the entire U.S., which represents about one quarter of one percent of the entire workforce. This is a drop in the bucket. This arbitrary number covers many occupations that did not require a degree in the past but now do because of an evolved workforce and complexity of positions”, said the immigration attorney in Atlanta.
“While it is impossible to predict the future, we know almost to a certainty that this year there will be more H-1B visa applications than there are visas that the immigration service can give, because of the cap. Therefore preparing the application and filing it on time are critical”, said the Atlanta immigration attorney.
“Many clients ask us what happens if the government receives more applications than the cap, and the answer is that the USCIS will conduct a random lottery or selection process to pick out the number of visas that they can approve out of everyone that applies. Under this lottery, every person has an equal chance to get selected and it is done randomly, not based on merit”, said Weinstock.
Applications selected by the lottery in April will be processed for October 1st start dates, which is the start of the government’s new fiscal year 2015. All H-1B visas for this year have already been used. If companies do not apply now, they will miss out on hiring the right employees until next year, so they need to hurry up and apply.
Karen Weinstock specializes in solving complex immigration problems and providing case strategy and management for organizations and individuals. Her expertise is in representing U.S. and international companies in the technology and healthcare industries as well as universities, researchers, physicians and investors with their immigration needs. She is the author and editor of "The H-1B Book”, and is a speaker on immigration law topics in conferences around the world.
About Weinstock Immigration Lawyers:
Weinstock Immigration Lawyers is a premier Atlanta immigration law firm and its immigration attorneys specialize in helping companies and individuals achieve the American dream by providing legal assistance for a comprehensive list of immigration needs. Our immigration lawyers have experience handling all aspects of immigration law issues and represent clients before the U.S. government. We are committed to providing quality and efficient service, and are one of the top ranking immigration law firms.