Approved H-1Bs With October 1st Start Date May Apply for Visas Now

Beneficiaries of approved H-1B petitions with an October 1, 2014 start date may now begin filing their visa applications at U.S. consular posts.

According to a State Department regulation:

“Posts are authorized to accept H visa petitions and issue visas to qualified applicants up to 90 days in advance of applicants’ beginning of employment status. Post must inform applicants verbally and in writing that they can only use the visa to apply for admission to the United States starting ten days prior to the beginning of the approved status period. In addition, such visas must be annotated, “Not valid until (ten days prior to the petition validity date.)”