Texas Service Center Begins Processing Certain H1B Cap-Exempt Petitions

On May 20, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Texas Service Center will begin processing certain Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker for certain H1B cap-exempt petitions [PDF version].

The Texas Service Center will process certain H1B cap-exempt petitions requesting:

A change in previously approved employment;
A change of employer;
Concurrent employment;
Amendments;
A continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer;
A change of status to H1B; or
Notification to a U.S. Consulate or inspection facility (port of entry or pre-flight inspection).

The Texas Service Center will not, however, process:

H1B petitions for cap-exempt entities [see article];
H1B petitions that are cap exempt based on a Conrad Waiver [see article] or an Interested Government Agency waiver [see article] under section 214(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; or
Petitions where the employer is located in Guam and the beneficiary will be performing services in Guam.

The Texas Service Center will share processing responsibilities for certain H1B cap-exempt petitions with the California Service Center, Vermont Service Center, and Nebraska Service Center. The purpose of the USCIS's change in processing policies is “to balance workloads and provide flexibility as USCIS works toward improving processing times and efficiency.”

Petitioners filing an H1B petition should always file the Form I-120 at the addresses indicated on the USCIS is Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129 webpage, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker page. Beginning on July 19, 2019, the USCIS may reject any H1B petition filed at the wrong service center.

To learn more about the H1B category and other work visa categories, please see our website's growing sections on Work Visas [see category] and AC21 [see category].