Non-Immigrant Alternatives To H-1B Petitions

Due to the failure of Congress to pass legislation increasing the numbers of new H-1B beneficiaries, human resources executives are unable to make firm plans for the hiring of highly skilled foreign nationals. For the past several years the demand for H-1B visas far exceeded the supply. For visa year 2009, which begins October 1, 2008 and ends on September 30, 2009, more than twice as many petitions were filed during the first week filing was permitted (six months prior to the start date, or April 1, 2008) than authorized by law. A lottery was held for both the 65,000 H-1B visas allocated for beneficiaries with bachelors degrees and the 20,000 visa numbers allotted to beneficiaries with advanced degrees earned in the United States. If your current or proposed new foreign national employee's petition was not selected, a new H-1B petition cannot be filed until April 1, 2009, and employment based on that