H-1B 2022 CAP WEBINAR

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 3PM Eastern (2PM Central). Interested clients and friends can register for our webinar by clicking on the link below.

REGISTER HERE

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H-1B Cap Basics, Registration Process, and Projections
• What is an H-1B Specialty Occupation?
• H-1B Dependency
• Special Issues for Staffing Companies and Third-Party Placements
• Cap-gap for F-1s as well as CPT/OPT maintenance
• Employer-Employee relationships, end-client documentation
• Green Card instead of an H-1B
• Top 10 things H-1B employers can do to stay compliant 

PLEASE JOIN US!

USCIS Requests Employment-Based Green Card Applicants to Interfile to Change Preference Category if Eligible

Citing the exceptionally high number of employment-based (“EB”) green cards available for the current fiscal year, the USCIS announced yesterday that it is requesting green card applicants interfile from EB3 to EB1 or EB2, if an applicant is eligible for EB1 or EB2. This will allow the USCIS to maximize the number of EB green cards issued.

Also called a “transfer of underlying basis,” interfiling allows a green card applicant to change the category (EB3 or EB2) under which the green card is issued. An applicant who originally filed an application under EB3 but also qualifies for the EB1 or EB2 is now encouraged to interfile a request for the USCIS to change the preference category.

The USCIS encourages an applicant who qualifies for both the EB2 and EB3 to interfile to transfer his/her I-485 from EB3 to EB2 to ensure that the EB2 is used.

Please contact your MU attorney if you would like to interfile to change your EB preference.

FEBRUARY 2022 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYIS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has just issued February 2022 Visa Bulletin.  This is the fifth Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2022. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01MAR19	01JAN13	C
3rd	C	22MAR18	15JAN12	C

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS is expected to use the Table B chart for I-485 employment-based filings. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

This month again there was good news and bad news for the retrogressed EB-2 and EB-3 categories.  The DOS did not move the Indian and Chinese EB-3s.  However, the dates for India and China EB-2 did progress.  India EB-2 moved ahead by about six months.  China EB-2 advanced by six weeks. 

The news remains positive for Philippines and Worldwide EB-3, where dates held at Current.  They are expected to stay Current for the foreseeable future.

USCIS Withdraws H-1B CAP Wage-Based Selection Rule

The Department of Homeland Security has withdrawn its H-1B Selection Final Rule as of December 21, 2021. The Rule was vacated by a US District Court in September 2021, and pursuant to that order, the DHS has withdrawn the Rule in the Federal Register.

First issued on January 8, 2021, the Rule created a new ranking order of H-1B CAP registration entries, rather than using a random lottery, in order to prioritize the highest OES prevailing wage levels. Musillo Unkenholt’s blog about the January 2021 rule can be found here.

The rule was initially intended to go into effect in time for the March 2021 CAP registration period, but it was ultimately delayed in February 2021 and never went into effect for any H-1B CAP lottery.