Second H-1B Cap Lottery Completed; Newly Selected Petitions Must Be Filed by November 7th
USCIS has just completed the second round of the H-1B cap selection lottery and notified the selected applicants. The August 2024 selection round was due to the fact that a (significant) number of H-1B cap registrations selected under the first round (see our report on the initial round of selections) did not file an H-1B petition before the June 30th [...]
Is my Degree a STEM-designated Program? Updated STEM Degree List
Many of our readers, and especially those foreign students on F-1 status who are in a technical field, are aware of the regulations which allow holders of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) degrees to obtain an additional 24-month OPT work permit extension, in addition to the 12-month post-completion OPT work permit. Understanding the eligibility rules and especially understanding if [...]
H-1B Cap Second Lottery for 2024 Expected in Late July/Early August
After the initial H-1B cap filing window closed on June 30, 2024, we expect the second lottery to be conducted and results to be announced in late July or early August 2024. For instance, during last year, the second lottery results took until mid-August to be announced and all secondary selection registrants to be notified. Automatic Consideration Under Second [...]
August 2024 Visa Bulletin – Not Much Movement; EB-3 Expected to be Unavailable in September 2024
The U.S. State Department has released the August 2024 Visa Bulletin which is the eleventh Visa Bulletin for the fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the lack of notable forward movement in almost all categories. EB-3 ROW/Mexico/Philippines expected to become unavailable in September. […]
July 2024 Visa Bulletin – EB Categories Start to Advance; EB-3 Retrogression
The U.S. State Department has released the July 2024 Visa Bulletin which is the tenth Visa Bulletin for the fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is the notable forward movement in EB-1/EB-2/EB-3 India and the retrogression in EB-3 ROW. Overall many employment dates are advancing again with the exception of EB-3 ROW/Mexico/Philippines where further retrogression or [...]
June 2024 Visa Bulletin – Employment-based Dates Unchanged (Again!)
The U.S. State Department has released the June 2024 Visa Bulletin which is the ninth Visa Bulletin for the new fiscal year. The headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin is (again) the lack of any meaningful movement across any of the employment-based categories. […]