nd filing season for H-1B visa petitions officially opens. USCIS will continue to accept petitions until the cap of 65,000 visas plus an additional 20,000 for candidates with masters degrees or higher is filled, or for at least five business days. For the past few years, the cap has been met before the mandatory five business days is up, so that means you have to file THIS WEEK for you, or your employee or client to have a shot at making the H-1B lottery for FY2019. Last year, we saw an unprecedented number of RFEs, especially targeting computer programmers. This year, make sure you take steps to preempt an RFE or rejection. Don’t fall into common RFE traps by taking these precautions:
- Consistent Answers – make sure what is entered on the LCA matches the petition, including the job title and description.
- Start Date is NO EARLIER THAN October 1st 2019.
- Borderline jobs that don’t necessarily require a US Bachelors degree or higher according to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook are accompanied by a detailed job description and expert opinion letter to prove specialization.
- The beneficiary’s degree or degree equivalency specialization matches the job title or is accompanied by a credential evaluation.
- Degrees earned outside of the US, incomplete college, or mismatched degree specialization is accompanied by a credential evaluation.