H-1B Cap Hit for FY 2023 and DACA Final Rule

H-1B Cap Has Been Hit for Fiscal Year 2023

On August 23, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it officially reached the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap. This includes both the 65,000 regular H-1B visas and the 20,000 additional H-1B visas for U.S. advanced degree holders.

USCIS also confirmed that it has sent all “Not Selected” notifications to registrants’ online accounts.

Notably, USCIS will continue to accept and process cap-exempt petitions for workers previously counted against the cap including H-1B extensions, H-1B amendments, H-1B transfers (change of employer), and concurrent H-1B petitions. The agency will also continue to accept and process H-1B petitions submitted by cap-exempt employers such as qualifying nonprofit higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations “affiliated with” or “related to” a higher education institution, nonprofit research organizations, nonprofit government organizations, and certain for-profit organizations where the H-1B workers will spend all or most of their time working at a qualifying cap-exempt employer and perform duties and activities that advance the primary purpose or mission of the qualifying institution.

DHS Issues Final Rule to Preserve DACA Program

On August 24, 2022, the Biden Administration made its move to preserve the existing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by issuing a new final rule. The Department of Homeland Security’s final rule:

• Maintains the existing threshold criteria for DACA;

• Retains the existing requirement that DACA requestors file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-765WS concurrently with the Form I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals;

• Clarifies procedures for termination of DACA and accompanying employment authorization; and

• Affirms the longstanding policy that DACA recipients have no lawful immigration status, but that DACA recipients, like other deferred action recipients, are considered “lawfully present” for certain purposes.

Note, under the final rule, USCIS is still prohibited from approving initial DACA applications and DACA-related employment authorization documents (EADs) because of a July 2021 injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. However, under the final rule, USCIS continues to be able to grant DACA renewals and related EADs.

Questions on how these announcements affect you? Contact us at info@imlaw.biz.