USCIS To Temporarily Accept H-1B Applications without Certified LCAs

Murali Bashyam

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a 120-day period during which it will temporarily accept H-1B petitions filed without certified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs).  This period began on November 5, 2009 and will end on March 4, 2010.  USCIS will only accept such H-1B petitions if they are filed at least 7 calendar days after the LCAs were filed with DOL and include evidence of these filings.  The only acceptable evidence of filing is a copy of DOL’s email giving notice of receipt of the LCA.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a 120-day period during which it will temporarily accept H-1B petitions filed without certified Labor Condition Applications (LCAs).  This period began on November 5, 2009 and will end on March 4, 2010.  USCIS will only accept such H-1B petitions if they are filed at least 7 calendar days after the LCAs were filed with DOL and include evidence of these filings.  The only acceptable evidence of filing is a copy of DOL’s email giving notice of receipt of the LCA

Petitioners who seek to take advantage of this temporary flexibility in the normal filing procedures for H-1B petitions must wait until they receive a request for evidence (RFE) before they submit the DOL-certified LCA to USCIS in support of the H-1B petition.  USCIS has stated that they will give petitioners a period of 30 calendar days within which they must send in a DOL certified LCA in response to the RFE.   USCIS will only approve H-1B petitions that include certified LCAs.

We will provide additional information on www.bashyamspiro.com as it becomes available.


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