Monday, February 9, 2009

April 1 - First Day to File H-1B Petitions

New H-1B petitions may be filed April 1, 2009. If approved, an applicant may start work on October 1, 2009. Those working on OPT on April 1 can continue doing so until their H-1B visa becomes effective on October 1.

Last April, there were about 163,000 applications for the 85,000 H-1B visa numbers. This year there may be fewer due to the slow economy and some STEM technology graduates who may opt out of the H-1B process. Thus, the chance of getting an H-1B visa may be higher than last year.

Martin

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