Attorney Carlos E. Sandoval Reminds Applicants and Employers to have their H-1b Petitions Ready to be Filed by April 1

Carlos E. Sandoval is encouraging employers and applicants to have their H-1b petitions ready to be filed by April 1, 2016, which is when USCIS will start accepting H-1b petitions for fiscal year 2016. Employers and beneficiaries who want to apply for H-1b visas need to do so in a timely manner to ensure that USCIS will consider their applications.

For fiscal year 2016, there is a cap of 65,000 visas, and an additional 20,000 visas for persons who have a Master’s degree. Usually, there are a lot more applicants than there are visas available. If within the first five days after April 1st there have been more applicants than visas available, USCIS will reject any further applications, and will conduct a lottery of the applications that were filed during the first five days.

To apply for an H-1B visa, certain requirements must be met. Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree or higher degree, or its equivalent, an employer-employee relationship with the petitioning U.S. employer. Furthermore, the job must qualify as a specialty occupation by meeting one of the following criteria: the degree requirement is common for this position in the industry, or the job is so complex or unique that it can only be performed by someone with at least a Bachelor’s degree in a field related to the position; the employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s or higher degree.

“The process of applying for an H-1b visa is time consuming, and requires the preparation of Labor Conditions Applications, and many times also requires obtaining academic evaluations and translations ” said Sandoval. “That’s why it is so important that applicants and employers start working on this as soon as possible to make sure USCIS receives the applications within the first five days after April first.”

About Carlos E. Sandoval, Attorney at Law 
Carlos E. Sandoval is a member of the Florida Bar, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Broward County Hispanic Bar Association and the Broward County Bar Association. Carlos, who speaks fluent English and Spanish, is licensed to practice law by the Florida Supreme Court and the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida. He focuses his practice in all areas of immigration, naturalization and removal. For more information or a consultation, please call (954) 306-6921, or follow him on Facebook. The law office is located at 450 N. Park Road, Suite 803, Hollywood, FL 33021.

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