H-1B Cap FY 2017

On April 12th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it has reached the statutory cap of 85,000 petitions for foreign workers for fiscal year 2017.

As with previous years, USCIS received more than 200,000 petitions in the first five business days, which led to the selection of workers through a computer-generated system, known as the “lottery”. The lottery took place on April 9th.

Those who are selected and whose petitions will be accepted may start working on October 1st, the first day of the federal fiscal year. Individuals who are not selected in the lottery will have to wait another year to try again to file their petition.

On the bright side -- there are other visa categories that may be available for individuals who did not get selected for an H-1B petition.

U.S. immigration law is rich with its various visa categories. For instance, L-1 is a visa for intracompany transferees, I is for journalists, O-1 is for persons with extraordinary abilities, R-1 is for religious workers, and P-1 is for internationally recognized athletes and entertainers.

Depending on your skills, education and experience, Williams Global Law is ready to assist such individuals to find alternative ways in order to extend their stay in the United States. Our attorneys have substantial experience with business immigration as well as employment-based temporary visas. Please click here to contact us.