U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would accept resubmitted H-1B cap-subject petitions that were rejected last year because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020.

Key Points:

  • USCIS will reconsider such petitions if they are properly resubmitted by Oct. 1, 2021.
  • In order to be reconsidered, the initial petitions must have been submitted in FY 2021 and rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020.
  • Additional information on filing procedures is available here.

Background: USCIS conducted a second H-1B lottery in August last year after the number of H-1B petitions received during the initial filing period was below the number needed to reach numerical allocations. Some of the petitions that were filed following the second lottery included a start date after Oct. 1, 2020. These petitions were rejected or administratively closed. USCIS now says they will be reconsidered.

BAL Analysis: The change will likely affect only a very limited number of petitioners and beneficiaries. Those who believe a petition was rejected solely because of the start date are encouraged to work with BAL to determine whether the petition should be resubmitted.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@balglobal.com.

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