THIS POSTING WAS UPDATED ON 11/20/07.
The following is for informational purposes and is not legal advice. Please consult a qualified lawyer for assistance with your matter.
Yesterday, AILA reported that the California Service Center (CSC) would be denying concurrently-filed H-1B petitions filed by cap-subject organizations on behalf of beneficiaries who had an approved H-1B from a cap-exempt employer. Such concurrently filed cases have been approved in the past. [AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 07111966 (posted Nov. 19, 2007)]. However, today AILA is reporting that the CSC will not be making any changes at this time: “CSC will return to prior policy with respect to certain forms of concurrent H-1B employment involving employment of an H-1B alien in cap-subject employment where the alien is already employed in cap-exempt employment.” [AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 07112065 (posted Nov. 20, 2007)].
A few facts about H-1Bs: (1) H-1B status is employer-specific, meaning that the beneficiary can work only for the petitioning organization; (2) H-1B’s are permitted to be for part-time employment so long as the labor condition application and the I-129 petition filed with the USCIS accurately state the offered wage and number of hours worked weekly; (3) a beneficiary is permitted to have more than one H-1B, concurrently filed by different organizations; and (4) certain organizations and beneficiaries are cap-exempt, meaning that they are not subject to the annual 65,000 numerical limitation on H-1Bs.
