Information for Employers

Filing Requirements Change For All H-1B Petitioning Employers:

On March 30^th, 2000, thirty days from publication in the Federal Register, all H-1B petitions must be accompanied by Form I-129W. Introduced originally in December 1998 to identify H-1B employers exempt from the $500 H-1B petition fee required by the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (ACWIA), a new version of the Form I-129W, dated 12/22/99, will now be required from each H-1B petitioning employer. The new form will request information that is necessary for INS to comply with statistical and reporting requirements also mandated by ACWIA.

The revised form will capture information on the H-1B position, the industry of the petitioning employer and the named H-1B worker's highest level of education, compensation, and country of origin. Once the revised Form I-129W becomes mandatory on March 30th, a complete H-1B petition will consist of "Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker" (Form I-129), revised Form I-129W, filing fees ($110 for Form I-129 plus additional $500 H-1B Petitioner fee, if applicable) and supporting documentation. Before that date, use of the revised form is optional. After that date, H-1B petitions filed either without the revised Form I-129W or with previous versions of Form I-129W will be rejected.

Additional information will be posted below as it becomes available. Topics will include:

• New form I-129W, dated 12/22/99
• Federal Regulation relating to deterrence of H-1B fraud (currently pending publication)
• Federal Regulation relating to exhaustion of FY00 H-1B numbers (currently pending publication)
• Federal Regulation relating to extension of the period of duration of status for certain F and J (currently pending publication)
• Nonimmigrants named as beneficiaries of H1-B petitions filed before the annual cap is reached (currently pending publication)