Employers to File FY 2009 H-1B Petitions on April 1; USCIS Publishes Interim Rule Prohibiting Multiple H-1B Petitions for Same Employee
On April 1, 2008, employers may file petitions requesting H-1B workers for fiscal year (FY) 2009 employment starting on October 1, 2008. For FY 2009, Congress has once again set a tight limit of 65,000 for most H-1B workers, and the supply is expected to be exhausted immediately. Last year, the cap was reached in one day.
USCIS published an interim final rule, effective March 24, 2008, that prohibits employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee. USCIS said the changes “will ensure that companies filing H-1B petitions subject to congressionally mandated numerical limits have an equal chance to employ an H-1B worker.” USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions. USCIS noted that the interim rule does not preclude related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) from filing petitions on behalf of the same worker for different positions, based on a legitimate business need. Read the rest of this entry »




