Immigration News Briefs
Cap Type Cap Amount / Cap Eligible Petitions / Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 50,800 11/2/2011
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 20,000 11/2/2011
Once the fiscal year 2012 cap is reached, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will adjudicate all pending cases. It is only necessary to file the H-1B petition while cap numbers remain. An approval can be issued after the cap is reached. In years past, a lottery has been held to select from the cases filed on the last filing day, as the filings on that day exceeded the remaining cap limits. Those who do not file in time will have to wait for fiscal year 2013. This means waiting until April 1, 2012 to file one’s case, and waiting at least until October 1, 2012 to begin work, as that is the earliest allowable start date for a cap-subject position in H-1B status.
U.S. Consulate, Mumbai, moving to new location
The U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, India, is scheduled to relocate during the month of November 2011. This transition will result in a temporary disruption in visa services as the operations shift to the new location. The new U.S. Consulate General will be contained in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKK).
The new facility within the BKK will offer expanded capacity and improved facilities, starting November 21, 2011. The aging Lincoln House facilities had limitations, and had resulted in reduced operational capacity earlier in 2011. With 44 interview windows, the new facility should be a vast improvement over the 13-window facility that existed earlier. The new compound also has state-of-the-art green technology and will house all other U.S. government offices within Mumbai. More updates on this topic will be posted on the Consulate General website, http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov.New report shows drop in L-1 visas issued in India
According to a report published by the National Foundation for American Policy, the number of L-1 visas issued at U.S. posts in India has declined by 28 percent over the past year. Approvals for L-1 visas in India dropped from 35,896 in fiscal year 2010 to 25,898 in fiscal year 2011. This is a drop of roughly 10,000 visas. While L-1 visa rates dropped in India, the rates in other areas of the world rose by about 15 percent.
The L-1 visa is an essential method by which companies move employees around the world. The visa enables U.S. companies to transfer executives, managers and other personnel with specialized knowledge from locations around the world to the United States to work. Beneficiaries must have worked abroad for the company for at least one continuous year within a three-year period before the petition was filed.
VISA PREFERENCE NUMBERS FOR DECEMBER 2011
|
FAMILY |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
01Sep04 |
01Sep04 |
|
2A |
22Mar09 |
15Feb09 |
|
2B |
15Aug03 |
15Aug03 |
|
3rd |
08Oct01 |
08Oct01 |
|
4th |
15Jul00 |
15Jul00 |
|
EMPLOYMENT |
India |
Pakistan/Bangladesh |
|
1st |
Current |
Current |
|
2nd |
15Mar08 |
Current |
|
3rd |
01Aug02 |
15Jan06 |
|
Other |
22Jul02 |
01Jan06 |
|
4th |
Current |
Current |
|
5th |
Current |
Current1B |
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