5 Reasons why it’s already too late to file your H1B petition

While Spring marks the busy federal and state tax season for CPAs and Tax preparers, H1B is the busy season for immigration law firms. The difference is that “File your taxes with us!” ads don’t start coming out till February-March when companies big and small begin aggressively marketing their clever tax preparation services; yet by March law firms have already begun their H1B preparations. So if you haven’t finished negotiations with your company and you haven’t retained a lawyer yet, it may be too late for you. Here’s why:

1. Are you ready to file on April 3rd, 2018?

H1B petitions are not accepted before April 3rd, but they may not be accepted after April 3rd either, since the USCIS annual quota (85,000) can potentially be reached the same day. Last year, and in the last three years, the H1B cap was reached by April 7th, less than a week since accepting petitions on April 2nd. Therefore, it is crucial that attorneys prepare H1B petitions promptly and file on April 3rd, 2018.

2. Do you want an attorney to prepare/review/file your petition?

Some of you may think this means you have plenty of time left.  After all, many of you complete your own paperwork at home and believe it is sufficient. However, keep in mind that finding a last minute attorney, or providing all your documentations last minute to an attorney is ill-advised given that you are not an attorney’s only client. Like with any law firm, attorneys have a roster of clients and cases they are working on and have to plan and manage their time wisely to meet all deadlines. When you spring your case on them last minute, if they are even willing to accept your case, they will charge you for the sacrifices they must make to meet your deadlines.

3. Did you already receive your DOL certification?

In addition, while it typically only takes a week to obtain a labor certification (LCA) from the Department of Labor (DOL), the processing times increase with the number of pending applications, often doubling or even tripling wait times. Generally, attorneys expect to have the LCA filed by mid-March, if not earlier.

4. Does your company have all the documents requested on hand?

Finally, the employer’s company organization, HR, and overall preparedness play a large part in the H1B preparation process, given that many of the required documents need to be prepared (a certain way) by the employer.  The H1B recipient usually has very little control of what has already been prepared and if not ready, then when the required documents can be provided. Hence, the necessity to begin the process as early as January.

5. Did you know USCIS no longer accepts premium processing?

Be careful in submitting your H1B petitions as USCIS will reject your petition if filed or paid for incorrectly.  USCIS has suspended premium processing (I-907). Any petition filed with a combined check payment for regular and premium processing will be rejected.