New procedural notes for H-1B Visa

On July 7, 2014, U.S. Department of State announced that H-1B beneficiaries with an October 1, 2014 start of employment date may start filing their Visa applications now.
As you may already know, the H-1B program is used to employ qualified foreign workers that possess necessary professional skills and specialized knowledge. Some of the most prominent areas that often utilize H-1Bs are biotech, science, engineering, and computer programming.
Because only 65000 H-1B visas are allowed per one fiscal year, employers must file H-1B petitions in a timely manner. As past practice shows, cap on H-1Bsb was reached on June 1st, 2011 for FY 2012, on June 12th, 2012 for FY 2013, and on April 5th, 2013 for the fiscal year 2014
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Thanks to the new procedural notes released by the Department of State, U.S. Consular posts are authorized to issue H-1B Visas 90 days in advance of the applicant’s start date of employment. In other words, starting from July 1st, 2014 applicants whose employment starts on October 1st, 2014 may file their visa applications to obtain H-1B visa stamp. However, applicants must remember that they can enter the U.S. only 10 days prior to the start of employment.
Our advice is to start filing visa applications early!
Best regards
und viele Grüße aus Charlotte
Reinhard von Hennigs
www.bridgehouse.law