Multiple H-1B Petitions

Multiple H-1B Petitions Are NOT Allowed for Same Beneficiary 

Much of the US immigration system is a competitive ecosystem. There are a limited number of immigrant visas available each year by category, country, and preference. That is the reason why if you, as a US citizen, sponsor your sister for an immigrant visa, she will not have her Green Card for 15 years. That is why the Employment-Based 2^nd preference for India is backed up to 2008, causing Indian nationals to be in H-1B status for 12 years. There are only 10,000 U visas available per fiscal year, causing a backlog of years. Asylum numbers are also limited. The Diversity Visa has a 55,000 per year restriction.

The major restriction in employment-based nonimmigrant visas is the H-1B visa. For some H-1B applicants and petitioners, the lottery system is not a worry. Some H-1B applications are “cap-exempt.” These are reserved mostly for universities. However, the lottery and the cap are a reality for many H-1B applicants and petitioners. Companies provisionally hire employees, on the hope that their petition is selected in the lottery. Last year 233,000 applications were submitted for 85,000 slots.

Given this ultra-competitive ecosystem, employers or employees may look to loopholes to enhance their chances. The Vermont Service Center has emphasized that multiple petitions are prohibited. The law is very clear: “An employer may not file, in the same fiscal year, more than one H-1B petition on behalf of the same alien if the alien is subject to the numerical limitations of section 214(g)(1)(A) . . . [F]iling more than one H-1B petition by an employer on behalf of the same alien in the same fiscal year will result in the denial or revocation of all such petitions.”

This applies to related entities, as well. It cannot be that Parent Company Alpha and Subsidiary Company Beta apply for Beneficiary Omega unless there is a legitimate business need. If this kind of manipulation is detected by USCIS, it reserves the right to revoke a visa, issue a notice of intent to deny, or notice of intent to revoke a petition. USCIS takes this very seriously, as filing multiple petitions for the same beneficiary is an unfair advantage.

The H-1B cap was not always at 65,000 with the 20,000 for the Master’s cap. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the cap was in excess of 100,000.