68% Of All H1B Visa Applicants For 2021 Were Indians, Which Makes Us #1 In The World! China At #2 With 13%

It has been reported by the United States Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS) on April 1, 2020 that close to 68% of the H-1B visa registrations for FY21 were from India.

This comes after the USCIS announced on March 18, 2020 that it will temporary suspend the premium processing service for fiscal year (FY) 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most H-1B Visa Registrations by India

Like we mentioned, the USCIS reported that near about 68% of the H1-B registrations for FY21 were from India.

Nearly 2,75,000 unique registrations were submitted during the initial registration period. Nearly 81% After India, China is the second largest beneficiary at 13.2%.

Of the total applications, roughly 46% of all registrations were for prospective beneficiaries with US advanced degrees.

The USCIS had earlier announced that the H1-B quota (65,000) for FY21 was over. Along with this, USCIS also issues another 20,000 H-1B visas for those who have earned Masters and higher degrees from a US institution.

Eligible applicants notified by the USCIS can start applying for H1-B petition from April 1, 2020.

Unlike earlier, the newly implemented H1-B Electronic Registration Process mandates the employers to register with the USCIS by March 20, after which the lottery process starts. After the lottery, the agency announces the potential beneficiaries who can start the application process.

USCIS Suspends Premium H-1B Petition Filings

Petitioners filing FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions will not be able to request premium processing when USCIS begins accepting these on April 1, 2020.  Until premium processing resumes for FY 2021 H-1B petitions, USCIS will reject any Form I-907 concurrently filed with a H-1B Form I-129.

It has said that it shall carry on the premium-processing in a two-phased manner during the FY2021 season, similar to what it has done in the past, so as to best manage premium processing requests.

·         The first phase will include FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, requesting a change of status from F-1 non-immigrant status.

·         The second phase will include all other FY 2021 cap-subject petitions. This has been done in order to reduce overall H-1B processing times.

USCIS will resume premium processing for FY 2021 H-1B petitions requesting a change of status from F-1 non-immigrant status no later than May 27, 2020 and will notify the public before premium processing resumes for these petitions.

The earliest date that it has come to resume premium processing for all other FY 2021 cap-subject H-1B petitions is June 29, 2020.