Tag Archives: work in us

H1B Visa November Update

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You may remember from our October H1B Visa update for FY2010 that the USCIS reported that were going to continue to accept H1B visa petitions until the H1B visa quota for the year has been exhausted.

The latest USCIS update for the quota was released on November 6, where the reported receiving 54,700 H1B visa petition filings on top of the already 20,000 approved advance degree cap exemption filings. The annual quota is of course 65,000 for the main group so there is still at least 10,000 visas available and probably a fair number more as many of the H1B visa petitions will be denied or revoked.

The other major update the USCIS released for the H1B visa for November is that due to the Department of Labor (DOL) having a major backlog and delays with certifying and issuing the approved Labor Condition Application (LCA) which is need prior to filing the H1B visa petition with the USCIS.

For the next 120 days from November 5 2009, through March 10, 2010 (or whenever the cap is exhausted), the USCIS will accept H1B visa petitions even without the approved LCA from the DOL if it has been filed at least 7 days prior to sending the petition to the USCIS. The only acceptable evidence of filing is a copy of DOL’s email giving notice of receipt of the LCA to prove this when filing with the USCIS without the approved LCA.

Following this H1B visa applicants and the prospective sponsor employers who make use of this temporary flexibility in the normal filing procedures for H-1B visa petitions must wait until they receive a request for evidence (RFE) before they submit the DOL approved LCA to USCIS in support of the H-1B visa petition.

The USCIS will give petitioners a period of 30 calendar days within which they must send in a DOL certified LCA in response to the RFE.  Ultimately the USCIS will only approve H-1B visa petitions that include certified approved LCAs.

The most interesting thing has been since the October 1 (i.e. the start of the new US Immigration year), the rush of applicants and companies filing for the H1B visa meaning the job market is seeming picking up for college educated folks despite the 26 year record high 10.2% unemployment rate nationally.

Actually if you look at the following NY times interactive chart for unemployment you can easily see how not all groups are effected equally and the market for laid off H1B visa workers, F1 Student visa graduates and foreigners wanting to work in the US in general may be looking up finally 🙂

Good Luck,
CJ

Green Card Lottery 2011 (DV-2011 Diversity Visa) opens October 2, 2009

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Well it’s almost here again for another year, the Green Card Lottery! Anticipated by so many people around the world as perhaps their only chance to establish permanent residency in the United States to live and work freely and bring their families.

The Green Card Lottery or it’s official title Diversity Visa Lottery is completely FREE to enter!
So do not think that you have pay as their are many sites out there that charge a fee saying they wil enter you multiple times over many years, ensure your application is correct and enhance your chances of winning as well as pay for your ticket over here partially or in full if you win.

The Lottery is run by the US Government and is very simple application for the most part with just basic details required along with a digital photo. More official information can be found at the official Green Card Lottery Information area of the US State Department.

This year the lottery will run from October 2, 2009 through November 30, 2009 and if successful you will be notified via a formal letter between around May to July in 2010. Following an interview at the US Consulate you will then be able to enter the US in the 2011 Immigration year in their calendar which begins on October 1, 2010.

Official instructions and eligble countries are yet to be announced for this year but if you read our Diversity Visa Lottery Instructions you will get a pretty good year about a lot of this as it doesn’t change that much.

The DV-2010 Lottery was the first year results were able to checked online and also that non winners were able to verify that also online where in previous years they were told nothing. We assume that will continue and possibly be expanded for the DV-2011 Lottery.

We wish you well and good luck this year in the Green Card Lottery (DV-2011) and just remember that is completely free to enter and is run every year around about this time.

CJ