The USCIS would start accepting H-1B petitions from the employers of the US during the five business days in the month of April. If USCIS gets more than the allotment of latest 85,000 H-1Bs for the year 2017 that would start from 1st October 2016, it would utilize a lottery system for selecting the petitions. It is time for the employers to start preparing from now if they want their business to participate in the process of H-1B this year.
The employers should carefully plan for making sure that they succeed in securing the H-1B visas. The previous year, employers of the US filed as many as 2,33,000 petitions during the initial week in the month of April.
This year the demand is expected to be higher than ever, as most of them predicting that the number could go beyond 3,00,000.
The employers should identify overseas workers who might require H-1B sponsorship, preparing the petitions as soon as possible and also developing the backup strategies.
Because of the high demand, employers must now plan for their possible rejections of their h-1b visa petitions. The choice of alternative visa for the employees is for the citizens of Australia, E-3 visas. For the citizen of Singapore or Chile, there is H-1B1 visa.
For intra-firm transferees, the L-1 visa, for the students with a US degree in STEM stream, the 17 month OPT extension.
For the people selected under the requirement of extra ordinary ability, there is O-1 visa. For the students with F-1 status, continue their education with F-1 status and looking at the opportunities of internship under the OPT program.
For the people under structured training program, there is H-3 visa and for the people as the Exchange Visitor, there is J-1 visa.
Each circumstance differs with the other, and you must consult your legal advisor for making sure that you got the feasible choice.
