Recent Developments in Immigration Law

PLAN NOW: Beginning April 1, 2006, employers may begin to file H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2007 cap, requesting an H-1B employment start date of October 1, 2006. As our recent Immigration Alerts have advised, the FY 2006 H-1B cap was reached on August 10, 2005. Since that date, cap-subject employers have been ineligible to file H-1B petitions on behalf of their foreign national workers.

Because the H-1B cap has been reached more quickly each year, it is important to file H-1B petitions as early as possible after the filing window opens on April 1, 2006. In the weeks leading up to April 1, 2006, it is important to review your employment needs to identify candidates that need H-1B sponsorship to continue to work. For example, if you currently employ, or intend to employ, any foreign national workers who are in F-1 status, with optical practical training that will expire prior to October 1, 2007, it is important to