HR Teams Should Prepare for FY 2019 H-1B Visa Lottery Opening on April 2, 2018
H-1B Visa Lottery: Many US employers relying on foreign national talent to fill highly technical positions offer H-1B visa sponsorship to prospective employees. Hundreds of thousands of applications are submitted each year, but only 85,000 petitions are accepted due to the government cap on H-1B visas. For FY 2018, 199,000 applications were submitted. The cutoff date for applications submitted to the lottery is not defined, so unprepared employers might miss the cap and not be able to fill their position.
Thousands of employers who miss the cutoff must wait until next year’s lottery or consider an alternative visa for the foreign national, subject to qualification. The cap for FY 2018 was reached in four days, indicating the importance of submitting applications for the H-1B cap-subject visas as soon as the lottery opens.
What does this mean for you?
As the FY 2018 process has shown, unprepared HR teams thinking they had seven days to file were not given the opportunity to hire the foreign national employee they hoped to sponsor. With issues such as prevailing wages, Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), and possible site visits, the process should start as soon as possible so HR teams can submit applications at the start of the lottery.
Where can you get started with the H-1B Visa Lottery?
Global Mobility Solutions has a team of global relocation experts who can help you with the H-1B Visa Lottery process. Our team’s knowledge and access to visa and immigration resources is unparalleled in the industry, and we have helped thousands of companies with visa processes to reach successful results.
Conclusion
Global Mobility Solutions’ team of global relocation experts can help HR teams prepare for the FY 2019 H-1B Visa Lottery. Contact us online or give us a call at 800.617.1904 or 480.922.0700 today to learn about our extensive range of industry-leading resources for global relocation.
Tamara Molino | CRP, GMS
Vice President, Global Services Tammy is responsible for GMS’ regional operations teams in North and Latin America, EMEA, and APAC. Tammy provides over 14 years of leadership experience in the areas of international assignment management, global network management, global consulting and business development. Her experience in global mobility includes new client implementations, policy and compliance development, global compensation and billing, vendor management, case management, and real estate home sale/purchase programs. Tammy travels extensively and studied abroad in Switzerland, Chile, Peru, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
