April 1 is Here

Well, the date we've been pointing to for a long time, April 1, 2008, is finally here. Tens of thousands of H-1B Cap petitions from around the country will arrive at USCIS' doorstep today and throughout the next several days. With H-1B petitions arriving by the truckload, I'm sure it's quite a sight to behold. Just remember, pursuant to the USCIS' latest guidance on mailing procedures, don't attempt to hand-deliver your H-1B petition or send it via taxi cab (I'm not making this up, apparently this has been attempted!).

Keep in mind that under the new H-1B Cap regulations, USCIS will continue to accept H-1B Cap cases for the first five business days of April, meaning that H-1B cap cases received through Monday, April 7 will all be treated equally for H-1B Cap counting purposes.

With respect to the selection lottery logistics, it could take up to several weeks before the results are known and receipt notices are issued to those petitions selected. If last year is any guide, other unexpected processing issues will surely arise.

Finally, don't forget that although USCIS will accept requests for premium processing for H-1B Cap cases, the 15-day premium processing timeline will be suspended until after USCIS completes its initial case intake and performs the cap selection lottery. USCIS is expected to restart the premium processing clock once the lottery process has been completed.

As we have been doing for the past several weeks, we will be sure to keep you updated on all the latest H-1B Cap news as it happens.