Here are some information:

April 4, 2005

Immigration e-Bulletin April 2005

This is a continuing series of monthly e-Bulletins issued by the Law Office of Lea Ling Beh. The information in this e-Bulletin does not constitute advice and should not be construed as legal advice. It is for general information only. The publication of this e-Bulletin is not intended to and does not create any attorney-client relationship. If you have any questions specific to your case, please consult an attorney.

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CIS starts accepting H-1B applications from April 1, 2005

All new applicants can start filing their applications for H-1B visas from April 1, 2005. New applicants are applicants who are applying for the first time and are subject to the H-1B quota of 65,000 visas. Out of this quota, 6,800 visas are reserved for nationals of Chile and Singapore (Less than 100 of these reserved visas were taken up last year by these two countries and the remainder were eventually put back into the general quota pool).

Applicants who are working for exempt employers are not subject to the H-1B quota and can apply anytime, even when the quota has been reached. Exempt employers are institutions of higher education such as universities and affiliates of universities , non-profit research organizations and governmental research agencies.

Special Note on the additional 20,000 visas for graduates with US Master's or Ph.D degrees -

As our readers may recall, in our March 2005 e-Bulletin, we informed that CIS was not yet accepting new applications for the additional 20,000 visas for graduates with US Master's or Ph.D degrees until new guidelines are issued in the Federal Register. To-date, no new guidelines have been issued.

However, the bad news is that CIS has informed that it has issued 10,000 H-1B visas in excess of the legislated quota of 65,000 visas set for the 2005 (the fiscal year starting on October 1, 2004). What this means is that 75,000 H-1B visas were issued last year instead of 65,000. This may result in the reduction of the additional visas for Master's and Ph.D holders from 20,000 to just 10,000 to remedy the error. Therefore, new applicants with Master's or Ph.D degrees applying for start dates of their visas before October 1, 2005 may have to contend with just 10,000 available visas. Otherwise, they will have to apply for start date of October 1, 2005 or later with the rest of the general applicants.

We are still waiting for the guidelines from CIS. When we have more information, we will provide an update.