- April 1, 2013
- Category: H-1B Cap Count, H-1B Visas
I filed an H-1B petition on Friday for an April 1, 2013 delivery. The case looks great and I do expect an approval. What bothers me, however, is the sheer lunacy of the H-1B visa process right now.
On Friday March 29, I had to confirm with my overnight carrier that they would not accidentally deliver my package on Saturday March 30, 2013. That is one day before the start of the first date allowed for FY-2014 filings. I have seen estimates that the FY-2014 H-1B Cap will fill on April 5, 2013! Picture this: that is a five day window for employers to file these petitions. Once that fills, they will not be able to petition for a new candidate until April 1, 2014. Can you imagine that? In the case of my package, if USCIS had rejected it as an early delivery and then sent it back to me, I probably would have received the rejected package after April 5, and missed the opportunity for a cap number. My package did in fact arrive early on April 1. However, what is wrong with a system when applicants have to worry about an April 1 filing delivery for a job that does not start until October 1?
April 1 is the first date to file for for the USCIS FY-2014 Administrative year, but the potential H-1B employee cannot begin employment until October 1, when FY-2014 actually begins. FY-2014 then proceeds until September 30, 2014.
I find it interesting that under the Immigration and Nationality Act –INA 214(g)(1)(A)–after FY-2003, the INA has frozen the H-1B Cap at a static 65,000 visas per year. Also note that USCIS sets aside up to 6,800 visas from the cap of 65,000 during each fiscal year for the H-1B1 program under the terms of the legislation implementing the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. In practice this leaves 58,200 visas available nationwide, and the numbers could all be gone by April 5.
We have heard a lot of news recently about the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting record highs. A more interesting benchmark is that the S&P 500 has also hit a record mark. People are investing in corporations and corporations are growing. Is it not logical to conclude then that corporations will need more specialty occupation employees to continue growing? I would think so. I have always felt that the H-1B Cap should be a dynamic, rather than a static figure. If the economy is growing at a certain clip, then the cap should have more numbers to reflect that growth. However, H-1Bs have been stuck at 65,000 since FY-2003. The Cap Numbers are inadequate for our economy. The government should act to reform the H-1B visa process.