st is coming right up! This is the date when CIS begins accepting cap-subject H1B petitions, and at TheDegreePeople, we predict the quota will be met within 5 business days. While demand for H1B visas continues to rise, there are still only 65,000 visas available for employees with US Bachelors degrees or their equivalency or higher, and an additional 20,000 for employees with US Masters degrees or their equivalent or higher. Last year, CIS accepted 236,000 petitions in five days. CIS is required to accept petitions for at least five business days, or until the quota has been exceeded. We predict that this year will be no different, giving beneficiaries, their employers, and their lawyers a very small window to file. When the number of petitions exceeds the visas available, CIS uses a randomized lottery to select visas. That means you need to be all ready to file on April 1st. While there’s nothing you can do for yourself, or your employee or client against lottery odds, you can make sure they 1) get into the lottery by filing on April 1st, and 2) file an impeccable petition that will be easy to approve. When you’re organizating the petition, keep in mind that some jobs and degrees are RFE magnets. For example, the Indian three-year bachelors degree will likely trigger an RFE if there is no credential evaluation included in the petition that converts work experience into a fourth year of college credit. The job Computer Systems Analysis tends to trigger RFEs because there are hardly any US bachelors degree majors with that exact title. That means candidates with this job need to include a credential evaluation with their petition that shows they have the equivalent of a degree in Computer Systems Analysis or an RFE will arrive instead of approval. Last year, we saw an unprecedented number of RFEs for computer programmers at level 1 wages. If your, or your employee or client is in this situation, you will want to include an expert opinion letter explaining why the job meets H1B specialization requirements. Before you file, let us review your case. We have experts and credential evaluators on hand to write the evaluation or opinion letter your client needs to prevent an RFE. Visit ccifree.com/ for a no charge and no obligation review of your petition, or your employee or client’s petition before you file. We will get back to you in 48 hours or less with a full analysis and pre-evaluation, along with our recommendations.]]>
