New law boosts H-1B visas, provides relief to green-card applicants

General Article

Last Oct. 17, then-President Clinton approved legislation that includes noteworthy amendments to the H-1B visa category, including a significant increase in the number of H-1B visas available each year.

In addition, it provides relief to green-card applicants with lengthy adjudication times.

Highlights of the legislation include the following:

• The Center is exempt from the H-1B visa hiring cap. This means the Center will be able to petition for H-1B visas all year long. If someone is hired who holds a valid H-1B visa for another employer, he or she should be able to start working for the Center as soon as our H-1B transfer petition is filed with the INS. This applies to all pending H-1B petitions.
• Per-country quota rules are changed, which may allow Indian and Chinese nationals to file for permanent residency much sooner. This is unlikely to affect priority dates for a few more months.
• H-1B employees with pending I-140 or I-485 applications should not have to leave the U.S. after six years if a labor certification or I-140 petition is filed before the end of their fifth year of H-1B authorization. They may apply for extensions of H-1B status in one year increments.
• H-1B employees may receive extensions of H-1B status beyond the sixth year if the employee has an approved I-140 petition but is waiting for the priority date to become current. This is likely to apply only to employees choosing to adjust in the United States (I-485) rather than through consular processing.
• Under certain circumstances, employees with adjustment (I-485) applications that have been pending for more than 180 days may be able to transfer the application and benefits to a new employer.

[Amy Garrett, immigration specialist in Human Resources, can be contacted at Ext. 4460.]

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