New Policy Guidance for H-1B and H-4 Admission Periods Released

USCIS Memorandum provides guidance on three important H-1B visa issues:

1. H-4 Time Does Not Count Toward H-1B Time Limit.

First, the H-1B visa Memo clarifies that time spent as an H-4 and L-2 dependent does not count against the maximum allowable periods of stay available to principals in H-1B and L-1 status.

2. H-1B Status Not Required to Extend Past 6 Year H-1B Limit.

Next, the Memo clarifies that H-1B visa workers, who qualify under American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) (Pub.L.106-313) section 106(a) and (c), need not be in H-1B visa status when requesting an additional period of stay beyond the six year maximum. AC21 permits the extension of H-1B visa status beyond the allowable six year period in certain situations when the H-1B visa worker has a pending or approved labor certification or I-140 immigrant petition.

3. Calculating Max H-1B Time.

Third, it clarifies how to determine the maximum period of admission in H-1B status for a beneficiary who was in the United States in valid H-1B status for less than the six-year maximum period of admission, but who has since been outside the United States for more than one year.

Read the new H-1B Visa Memo here.