American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21)

Signed into law in 2000, the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) modernized immigration laws pertaining to foreign workers in the United States. AC21 makes greatly H-1B visa and Form I-140 portability, allowing foreign workers in certain situations the flexibility to change employers. AC21 also has provisions for extensions of status for H-1B visa-holders who are applying for adjustment of status to certain employment-based immigrant visa preference categories, and are only unable to adjust status due to annual caps on available employment-based immigrant visas or slow processing times. AC21 creates a separate H-1B visa pool for applicants holding master’s degrees, increasing the chances that advanced degree-holders may be successful in obtaining H-1B visas. AC21 also created a cap-exemption for H-1B petitions submitted by certain institutions of higher education and certain non-profit and governmental research organizations, thereby making it easier for them to employ talented foreign workers.

On our website, you will find numerous articles about these subjects and more relating to AC21:

• Extending H-1B status under AC21
• Applying for employment-based immigrant visas
• Increased H-1B visa portability under AC21
• Increased Form I-140 portability under AC21
• The H-1B cap-exemption for certain higher education institutions and research organizations