FY 2017

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US: FY 2017 H-1B cap season begins

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USCIS today begins to accept H-1B cap petitions for employment in FY 2017. With a very large number of cap filings expected this year, the FY 2017 cap of 85,000 is likely to be exhausted quickly. 

The first five business days of the cap filing season – April 1 through April 7 – are considered a single filing period.  If, as anticipated, USCIS receives more than enough cap petitions to meet the quota during this period, it will run computerized lotteries to choose the cases that will be processed to completion.

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US: Premium processing of FY 2017 H-1B cap petitions to begin no later than May 16

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Premium processing of FY 2017 H-1B cap cases will be postponed until no later than May 16, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced.  Employers will be able to request premium service for H-1B cap cases when the filing season opens on April 1, but the agency will not begin working on those cases until May 16 at the latest.

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US: H-1B cap reminder: To ensure timely filing, gather documents and submit LCAs now

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With just over two months until the start of the FY 2017 H-1B cap filing season, employers should be working with their immigration counsel to gather necessary documents and submit required labour condition applications (LCAs) so that they are ready to submit cap petitions during the week of Friday, April 1 to Thursday, April 7, 2016.