New Centralized Filing Location for H-1B Cap Exempt Petitions

The USCIS just announced that in an effort to streamline the processing and adjudication of H-1B petitions, they will employ a new special unit dedicated to processing H-1B cap exempt petitions at the California Service Center.

As many of our readers know, there is an annual limit of 65,000 H-1B visas. The limit is per fiscal year (FY) which starts in October 1 and the USCIS starts accepting new H-1B applications for the FY starting in October on April 1st. We are anticipating that due to the extremely heavy demand of H-1B visas, the entire cap of 65,000 will be exhausted on the first day of filing.

Cap Exempt Categories

There are several categories of petitions which are not subject to the cap. These cap exempt categories have become increasingly attractive as foreign nationals are often frustrated by missing the single April 1 filing day. Cap exempt petitions are petitions filed by:

• Institutions of higher education, as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1001(a);
• Nonprofit organizations or entities related to or affiliated with institutions of higher education; and
• Nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organization, as defined in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).

Employers who fall in any of the categories above can file a cap exempt H-1B petition at any time during the year.

New Mailing Address

Qualifying cap exempt H-1B filings should be now addressed to the following addresses:

Direct mail:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN: CAP EXEMPT H-1B PROCESSING UNIT
P.O. BOX 30040
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-3004

For non-USPS deliveries (e.g. FedEx/UPS):

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN: CAP EXEMPT H-1B PROCESSING UNIT
24000 Avila Road, Room 2312
Laguna Niguel, CA 92667

If a cap exempt petition is received at another service center, it will be expeditiously forwarded to the California Service Center. Additionally, USCIS is expected to modify the filing instructions to require all cap exempt filings to be made at the California location. Thus, it is important to use the new address to avoid any delays in your application.