TSC Rejects H-1s in Error
Posted Apr 23, 2004

The Texas Service Center (TSC) erroneously rejected a substantial number of cap-subject H1B cases that were filed after April 1, 2004. As regular readers of MurthyDotCom and the MurthyBulletin know, H1B cases can be filed six months in advance of the employment start date. Thus, many employers have been filing H1B cases for their cap-subject employees and potential employees as much as six months in advance of the 2005 fiscal year (FY) start date of October 1, 2004. This is in the effort to ensure these cases are filed and approved for one of the 65,000 H1B cap numbers available for FY2005. Unfortunately, the TSC incorrectly rejected some of these cases filed on or after April 1, 2004. The TSC has acknowledged its error and taken steps to rectify the situation for future cases. Because rejected cases are returned to the petitioner without the TSC's retaining any documentation, however, the TSC cannot independently correct the mistake that it made in rejecting those particular cases.

The TSC issued instructions that those with rejected cases should file again without delay. This is the best course of action. Although the rejections were in error, if they are not re-filed in time to obtain a FY2005 cap number, it does not appear that these cases will be given any special consideration. Because the mistake occurred early in the filing period for FY2005 cases, there should be ample time to file these cases again. The TSC will accept all such re-filed cases, as well as new cases being filed under the same strategy. The mailroom personnel, who were apparently responsible for the incorrect rejections, have been instructed not to reject new H1B filings with a start date that is on or after October 1, 2004 as long as the start date requested on the H1B petition is not more than six months in the future. Hopefully, this will resolve the problem for future filings. Those with rejected H1B filings should resubmit them without delay.