LewsLaw Monthly Immigration Newsletter December 2009 Volume 1, Number 10
H-1B cap reached as of 12-21-2009
USCIS announced on 12-22-2009 that the H-1B cap was reached on 12-21-2009. For those petitions received on 12-21-2009, a lottery will be conducted to determine which petitions will receive a number. New H-1B cap subject petitions can now only be filed on 04-01-2010 with a effective date of 10-01-2010.
LCA processing delays
The Department of Labor (DOL) office in Chicago having jurisdiction for processing Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) in support of H-1B visa petitions moved location the second week of December and only on 12-15-2009 did the phones and servers become available for responding to queries and processing requests for FEIN/employer name verification and adjudication of LCAs. Processing resumed as of 12-15-2009. This delay certainly impacted the ability of employers to timely file H-1B visa petitions.
Some Movement in Employment Based Immigrant Visa Numbers for January 2010
The U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for January 2010 shows more progressive movement for employment based visa numbers than last month. Third Preference Visa Numbers for the world have moved forward by two months so that the new cut off date is now 08-01-2002 instead of 06-01-2002. This movement is also reflected for Third Preference China. Although India Third Preference has not moved forward as much, it has still progressed by almost two months to 06-22-2001 from 05-01-2001. Second Preference for the world remains current, whereas Second Preference for China now moves forward one month to 05-01-2005 from 04-01-2005; however India Second Preference remains stagnant on 01-22-2005. First Preference for all countries remains current.