Cos should hurry up with their H1B petitions to beat the April 1 deadline

It’s that time of the year when Indian companies that plan to send employees to the US on H1B work permits need to wake up and start smelling the coffee.

Last year, the H1B work permit quota, applicable for those who started their employment term in the US in October 2008, was hit within a day. And this year too, there’s likely to be a similar rush for the non-immigrant visa category - which is meant for skilled foreigners in specialty occupations.

Immigration experts and lawyers are all advising companies and skilled individuals to start planning ahead for their H1B applications and not leave things to the last moment. “I strongly recommend that companies should begin preparing for H1B filings at the earliest if they hope to file on April 1, 2008, which is the first day on which H-1B applications will be accepted for an employment commencing on October 1, 2008,” says Poorvi Chothani, founder of LawQuest, a general business law firm that offers global immigration solutions and is sole correspondent in India to Cyrus D. Mehta & Associates PLLC, a New York based immigration law firm.

Fast Track

Labor Condition Application Process - Department of Labor

Employer must certify:

It is paying the higher of what it pays its own similar workers or what similar workers in the area are paid (whichever is higher)

The working conditions of its US workers are not adversely affected.

There is no strike/lockout at the worksite nor in the occupation for which a foreign professional is sought.

It has given notice to current employees that it is seeking to hire an H-1B professional.

The H-1B cap applies to new petitions filed for foreign workers that have not been counted against the H-1B cap within the past six years. The following are not subject to this cap.

Any petitions, extensions, or change of employer, filed for current H-1B workers.

New petitions filed for employment at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, or nonprofit research organisations.
Agrees Anu Peshawaria, a California based lawyer and immigration consultant: “Like last year, this year too the visa numbers are likely to finish in a day. Preparation such as collection of documents, approval of prevailing labour and educational evaluation needs to be done in advance. We have informed all our corporate clients as well as students on F1 status in the US to file for H1B status early so that they do not miss the cap.”


The rush for H1Bs, which is fuelled by Indians and Indian companies in a big way, is expected to get bigger this year. Last year, 133,000 applications were filed on April 2 and April 3, the first two days when the 2008 H-1B visa process opened.

The additional 20,000 advanced degree visas were also used up by April 30, 2007. “This year, we expect that the US masters’ degree quota may also be met on the first day or soon thereafter, unlike last year where we had about one month,” says Sheela Murthy, founder, president and managing attorney of Murthy Law Firm in Maryland.

Meanwhile, a large number of Indian students who are graduating in the US are likely to forgo part of their one-year Optional Practical Training period and apply for H-1B visas to avoid the gap in status that arises when transitioning from OPT to H-1B.

Experts feel that people have become smarter with many filing for H1B and L1 simultaneously to avoid disappointment. “Corporations have already started the preliminary work and most applications will be ready by the middle of March,” Ms Peshawaria says.