USCIS Will Open 20,000 H1Bs to Wider Group
Posted Mar 08, 2005; updated Mar 17, 2005

March 17, 2005 Update  Based on comments from USCIS officials, AILA reports that it appears that the notice in the Federal Register regarding the filing of additional 20,000 H1B petitions for this fiscal year, will not be released this week, as originally envisioned. Therefore, employers will not be able to start filing new H1B petitions starting on March 21, 2005 as mentioned earlier by the USCIS.

On March 8, 2005, USCIS issued another announcement reminding employers interested in filing under the 20,000 additional H1B quota that they should not file any new H1B petitions for a start date in this fiscal year (FY) until the USCIS issues a regulation in the Federal Register. The USCIS did not give a date for when the regulation will be issued but mentioned that it is expected to be published "as soon as possible."

Surprisingly, the USCIS also announced that the 20,000 available new H1B petitions for FY2005 will be applicable to all "qualified" H1B nonimmigrant petitions. The definition of "qualified" beneficiaries is not limited to those who hold masters' degrees or higher education from U.S. institutions of higher learning! It is not clear how the USCIS can interpret the law in this manner, since that would be contrary to law! The notice in the Federal Register may explain the reasoning of the USCIS.  

We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy will continue to provide MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers with updates on this important and hot issue as USCIS releases any new information!