H-1B | New York City Immigration Lawyer. NYC immigration lawyer assisting with K-1 fiancee visas, EB 1-A Extraordinary Abilities Visa, EB 1-2 Outstanding Researchers and Professors Visa, and all other visas, green cards, naturalization and citizenship. Gafner Law Firm is a full service NYC immigration law firm serving clients in Manhattan, Staten Island, Brookyln, the Bronx, Queens, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County, Yonkers, Astoria, Greenpoint, Murray Hill, Bushwick, Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Brighton Beach, Brownsville, Corona, Harlem, SoHo, Tribeca, Longwood, Hunts Point, Flatbush, Brooklyn Heights, Wall Street, Jersey City and from throughout the world.

H-1B Cap Update

USCIS has recently released their weekly update on the number of cap-subject H-1B applications that have been filed for this fiscal year. As of May 28, 2010 – 20,800 H-1B petitions have been received for the 65,000 cap and 8,700 H-1B visas have been received for the U.S. Masters cap [...]

H-1B Update

April 1st was the first day that cap subject H-1B applications could be filed for the fiscal year starting October 1, 2010. This start date is important because each year the government imposes a cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas (and 20,000 H-1B Master visas). So far this year, 16,025 H-1B petitions [...]

H-1B Season Off To A … Slow Amble

The annual H-1B season is off to a very slow start as USCIS has indicated that only 9,525 H-1B applications have been received (as of April 5th) for the new H-1B year beginning in October. 6,791 of those applications apply directly towards the main quota amount of 65,000.

The low turnout was to be expected…especially in light [...]

H-1B Season Is In Full Swing

Beginning April 1, 2010, employers can submit an H-1B visa petition for an individual that they want to employ beginning October 1, 2010. Each year, the U.S. government imposes an arbitrary cap on 65,000 H-1B visas. In recent memory, with the exception of last year, the cap has been reached within days of the [...]

H-1B Quota Met For Fiscal Year

The USCIS has announced that the H-1B quota of 65,000 visas has been met for the fiscal year. Unlike previous years where the quota was met within days of it becoming available, this years quota was not met for nearly [...]

Only 3500 H-1B Visas Remain Available

As of December 8, 2009, only 3500 H-1B Visas remain available for this fiscal year. Each year the government imposes an arbitary quota of 65,000 H-1B visas for the fiscal year. In the past the 65,000 limit was reached within a few business days of them becoming available (April 1st). However, with the downturn in the [...]

H-1B Numbers Closing In On Annual Cap

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that H-1B filings for the fiscal year are increasing and that only a tad over 10,000 H-1B visa slots remain available for the current fiscal year. The annual cap is 65,000 for normal H-1B visas. H-1B visa filings [...]

H-1B Still Available

On June 26th, the USCIS announced that it had received 44,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions since April. This means that over 20,000 slots remain before the H-1B annual limit of 65,000 [...]

American Opportunity in this Recession

As the recession continues, many have tired to find solace by looking at the good that has come out of previous economic downturns. Many have commented that the majority of today’s leading companies were started during economic down turns. Sunday’s Thomas Friedman article looks a bit deeper into that statement, and believes [...]

Do We Need Foreign Technology Workers?

In the latest installment of the New York Times’ series examining immigration in the United States, the newspaper asks, “Do We Need Foreign Technology Workers?” In the piece, the paper asks six “experts” in immigration policy to answer that question. The responses, coupled with the readers’ comments, cover the entire spectrum of possible answers. Although [...]

Are You Feeling Lucky?

Today is the day. It is April 1st and in the bizarre world of American immigration law that can only mean one thing – the “H-1B season” is finally open. A relatively new phenomenon, the “H-1B season” refers to the time period when businesses can apply for new H-1B visas for the upcoming [...]

Will the H-1B be Less of a Lottery This Year?

Over the last few years obtaining an H-1B visa has become an unintended lottery. The demand for H-1Bs has far exceeded the arbitrary limit of 65,000 petitions allowed each year. Each year, the excess demand has caused the quota to be met almost instantaneously and has caused the government to randomly choose the petitions that they [...]

Silicon Valley Start-ups, Patient Applications, and Immigrants

Often anti-immigration groups lecture about immigrants taking jobs away from American employees. Given a recent BusinessWeek.com article, the more appropriate question seems to be: how many American jobs do immigrants create?

The article pointed to two telling stats. First, the article found that when the number of H-1B visas increased, the number of patent applications went [...]

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