News Update - February 2, 2008

By Alan Lee, Esq.

H-1B Cap Exempt Petitions To Be Filed In California Service Center For All Cases Nationwide

U.S.C.I.S. announced on January 30, 2008 that all H-1B cap exempt petitions nationwide should now be filed at the California Service Center. U.S.C.I.S. will have a special unit dedicated to processing these cases. H-1B cap exempt cases are those filed by:

-- Institutions of higher education as defined by Section 101(a) of The Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 USC 1001(a);

-- Nonprofit organizations or entities related to or affiliated with institutions of higher education; and

-- Nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations, as defined in 8 CFR section 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).

Such petitions should be filed either by U.S. Post Office mail to:

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN; CAP EXEMPT H-1B Processing Unit
P.O. Box 30040
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-3004

or via non U.S. Postal Service (private courier) to:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN: CAP EXEMPT H-1B Processing Unit
24000 Avila Road, Room 2312
Laguna Niguel, CA. 92677

U.S.C.I.S. reminds the public that petitioners may file a qualified H-1B cap exempt petition at any time of the year dependent upon the petitioner's need, and no earlier than six months ahead of the intended start date.

 


The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

This article © 2008 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.