American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act (AC21) in Charleston, SC

This Act, signed in 2000 (AC21), affects the filing of certain H1B petitions as follows:

1. It allows certain foreign nationals who are in the process of obtaining their permanent residency, based on employment, to change employers (AC21 Portability) after their labor certification has been completed and approved, after their I-140 has been filed & approved, and while the I-485 is being processed. The new employment must be in the same, or a similar, occupation classification, and the I-485 must have been pending for at least 180 days.
2. It provides 1-year extensions to H1B workers who have had an I-140 or labor certification filed more than 365 days prior.
3. It allows a non-immigrant alien who was previously issued an H-1B visa or status to work for a new employer once the new employer files for that alien.
4. It does not require the secondary employer to again proceed with labor certification.
5. It negates the need to file for a new H1B when a corporation is restructured, merged, acquired, or consolidated.
6. It exempts H1B workers employed by institutions of higher education, non-profit entities, and government research organizations from the annual visa cap limitation.
7. It requires that those workers with 6 years of prior H1B status not be counted toward the annual cap limitation unless authorized for a new 6-year limitation.