New H-1B Quota Season Begins!

H-1B season begins today – April 1, 2011. Like a cruel joke, the beginning of this year’s H-1B applications, H-1B quota, H-1B cap, fiscal year 2012 H-1B season, whatever you want to call it…starts today, April Fool’s Day!

Let’s review what the H-1B season means to those looking for a job and who hope to find a suitable employer to sponsor the H-1B application. (1) find a job (2) which requires a Bachelor’s degree (3) with a company that is well established (or decently so) and (4) is willing to pay the government filing fees!

These criteria make up the most basic of H-1B requirements. There are many cases which get filed for H-1B each year and get denied, even though they “meet” the initial criteria. I gave a talk last month to attorneys in the Los Angeles area regarding some of the things a seasoned immigration attorney can do to help their clients make good choices in searching for H-1B sponsors and/or in documenting a good H-1B case. I was able to show examples of cases where other attorneys had short-changed their clients by only submitting the basic requirements to USCIS. These cases, of course, resulted in denial. The business immigration attorneys at Romben Law, APC have been able to re-file and overcome such denials, but when you really understand how the cards can easily stack up against you in H-1B applications, you might be wise to start with a initial consultation at Romben Law, APC as soon as you have an employer lined up before you end up with a denial or notice of intent to deny from USCIS. —ecf