According to an update on AILA’s website, if you are requesting for withdrawal of an H-1B approved by Texas Service Center, the application should now be sent to the Vermont Service Center, and for the H1-Bs approved by the National Service Center, the request should be sent to the California Service Center.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced today it would allow F-1 students, whose H-1B petitions have been selected for fiscal year (FY) 2009, to request a change of status in lieu of consular notification. This is a short-term measure taken to accommodate the changes introduced by the recent Interim final rule on F1 students and OPT students.

Short term measure to benefit H1B 2009 petitioners currently on F1 status

The interim rule, among other changes, allows F1 Students having a pending H1-B to cover the period in-between the end of their non-immigrant status and H1B work start date by automatically extending their F-1 status till October 1 (H1B work start date). The extension is subject to USCIS decision of the petition i.e. the extension is not valid if the H1B application is denied or rejected.

To avail this extension, the student needs to have applied for H1B for the following fiscal year and have requested a change of status.  However, since the rule was published on April 8^th, a day after the last date of applications for H1B 2009, most F1 students filed their H1B with request for consular notification under the assumption that they will receive their H-1B visa at a consular office abroad.

USCIS has therefore decided to grant this year’s beneficiaries the change to avail the benefit of the new rule by allowing employers to request a change of status on behalf of the F1 students who have received their H1B receipt, within 30 days of the date of issuance on the receipt notice.

How to request a change of status?

To request a change of status, petitioners or their representatives must send an e-mail with the request to the USCIS Service Center where their petition is pending, within 30 days of the issuance of the receipt notice.  Special email addresses have been assigned for each service center (see below).

The email request must include

1. The receipt number
2. Petitioner’s name
3. Beneficiary’s
   • Name
   • Date of birth
   • I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) number, and
   • Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) number.

NOTE: The request will not be accepted without a valid receipt number.  Any F-1 student with a pending request for change of status to any other status than H1B, cannot request for a change of status to H1B without withdrawing the previously filed request.

E-mail addresses for requesting change of status are:

Vermont Service Center
Premium Processing cases:  VSCPPCAPGAP.Vscppcapgap@dhs.gov
Non-Premium cases:  VSCNONPPCAPGAP.Vscnonppcapgap@dhs.gov

California Service Center
Premium Processing cases:  CSC.ppcapgap@dhs.gov
Non-Premium cases:  CSC.nonppcapgap@dhs.gov

Which petitions do NOT fall under this regulation?

Not all cap exempt H-1B petitions are subjected the centralized filing, such as
-        Petitions exempt on account of petitioner holding U.S. Master’s degree or higher
-        Petitions exempt on account of requesting an extension of stay
-        Petitions exempt on account of requesting a change of employer
-        Petitions exempt on account of requesting an amendment

These of petitions, though “exempt” from the cap, will need to be filed in accordance with the filing charts on USCIS website and the Form I-129 instructions.

Where should these cap exempt petitions be filed?

Petitions falling under the above categories are to be filed at the following address

For Direct Mail: 

U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN: CAP EXEMPT H-1B Processing Unit
P.O. BOX 30040
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-3004

For non-United States Postal Service (USPS) deliveries (e.g. private couriers):

U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
California Service Center
ATTN: CAP EXEMPT H-1B Processing Unit
24000 Avila Road, Room 2312
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

NOTE: Mark the outside of the envelope and the top margin of the I-129 form, with “EXEMPT.”
If a cap exempt H-1B petition is filed at a different Service Center, it will forwarded to the CSC. There is no fear of rejection here, only delay.

Since cap-exempt petitions can be filed at any time of the year, we advise employers to avoid filing during the month of April, which is when the regular H1Bs are filed, to avoid the rush and consequent delay that may occur.