H-1B Cap Petitions Transferred to the California Service Center
On June 16, 2022, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that certain H-1B cap petitions for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2023 that were filed at the Vermont Service Center have been transferred to the California Service Center due to an influx of case submissions and delays in issuing receipt notices. USCIS notes that transfer notices are not currently being issued but once petitions are processed, H-1B receipt notices will be provided. USCIS advises petitioners to continue submitting cases to the appropriate Service Center per H-1B cap selection receipt notices and that duplicate petitions should not be submitted.
USCIS Provides Guidance for Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications
USCIS encourages all individuals eligible for employment-based visas to file an adjustment of status application, accompanied by the appropriate medical examination/vaccination record as soon as possible and before FY 2022 ends on September 30, 2022. Due to consulate closures throughout the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, approximately 140,000 family-based visas that went unused in FY 2021 have been reallocated to the employment-based categories by USCIS. As a result, the employment-based annual limit for this FY is approximately double the typical annual total and USCIS seeks to ensure that as many allotted visas are used as possible. Contact your immigration counsel as soon as possible to determine whether you can benefit from the increase in visa allotments for this FY.
DID YOU KNOW? Approximately 47.9 million people are predicted to be traveling for July 4th weekend, shaping up this Independence Day to be the highest travel weekend since the pandemic began. Be prepared for travel delays and ensure you have copies of all travel documents, vaccination records, and the appropriate transit visas if traveling abroad.