USCIS to allow resubmission of certain FY 2021 H-1B petitions

In case you applied for an H-1B visa in the past year to work temporarily in the United States but faced rejection, your petition may still have a chance. If you filed an H-1B petition during the fiscal year (FY) 2021 and the reason for rejection was that you requested a start date after October 1, 2020, you will now have an opportunity to resubmit it with all applicable fees.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will accept resubmission of certain FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. These petitions were based on registrations that applicants submitted during the initial registration period. The reason for rejection was the requested start date, which was after October 1, 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought uncertainty to many businesses. As a result, the number of petitions filed during FY 2021’s initial filing period was lower than expected. Economic and political uncertainty played an important role as well. For these reasons, the USCIS selected additional registrations from the reserve in August 2020 to meet its allocated numerical cap. The filing period for registrations that were selected in August ended on November 16, 2020.

If you decide to resubmit your petition, make sure that you include your FY 2021 H-1B cap registration selection notice as well as the rejection letter for the original application. The USCIS advises that you use a brightly colored cover sheet indicating that you are resubmitting your petition. Keep in mind that the applicants need to resubmit their petitions before October 1, 2021.

H-1B visa: General Information

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant, employment-based U.S. visa for temporary workers. This visa is for a specialty occupation, meaning that it requires the application of specialized knowledge. It requires that an applicant has a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent of work experience. Regarding the length of stay, the H-1B visa initially lasts up to three years. However, you can extend it to a maximum of six years.

What’s great about the H-1B visa is that, although it is a temporary visa, it has dual intent. This means that you can obtain a Green Card while you’re in the U.S. on an H-1B visa. However, if your H-1B visa expires before you obtain the status of an LRP, you are required to live outside of the U.S. for at least one year before you reapply for another H-1B visa.

We hope this is good news for you. For any questions that you might have regarding the H-1B visa, feel free to reach out to us. We will gladly address all your concerns and provide you with the necessary information.