The Hs are Coming! 20,0000 Advanced Degree H-1Bs




On December 8, 2004 President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 into law. The law included several changes to the H-1B category. Among other things, the law exempts from the H-1B visa cap 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign nationals with masters or higher-level degrees from U.S. universities. 

Employers and foreign national workers have been greatly anticipating these additional visas as a relief to the taxed H-1B category. The law required the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to start accepting applications for the additional 20,000 H-1B visas on March 8. The agency did not publish implementing regulations by that date, however.

Now they are about to. An advance copy of the regulation has just been sent to the Federal Register, where it will be published May 5. Under the regulation, only graduates of U.S. master's or higher programs will be eligible to apply for the additional 20,000 H-1B visas. They can begin filing for the visas on May 12. 

All filings must go to a special address at the Vermont Service Center. The rule sets forth a special selection process if the USCIS receives more than 20,000 requests. The rule also sets forth a procedure for converting H-1B petitions already filed for a fiscal year 2006 start date that now want to take advantage of the additional 20,000 visas in this fiscal year.

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