Fiscal Year 2012 Cap for H-1B Visa Petitions Reached on November 22, 2011

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

By Ian Macdonald

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") announced on November 23, 2011, that the statutory H-1B cap for FY 2012 was met. USCIS will reject any cap-subject petitions for new H-1B workers that are received by USCIS after November 22, 2011, regardless of when they were postmarked. As a result, employers will be unable to obtain new H-1B petitions with start dates between now and September 30, 2012. The filing period for FY 2013 will open on April 1, 2012, for H-1B petition start dates that will be effective on October 1, 2012, the beginning of FY 2013.

The H-1B "cap" limits new H-1B approvals to 65,000 each fiscal year. Of this amount, 6,800 are set aside for the H-1B1 visa program under the U.S.-Chile and U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreements. Each year, any unused 6,800 Chile/Singapore H-1B1 visas are reserved for use during the next fiscal year. In addition to the standard 65,000 H-1B cap pool, there are 20,000 additional H-1B numbers made available for foreign workers with a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. academic institution. As of October 19, 2011, sufficient numbers of applications were received by USCIS to meet the 20,000 advanced degree exemption cap also.

It is important to note that only NEW H-1B petitions are subject to the cap. The following H-1B filings are NOT subject to the cap:

  •  H-1B petitions for an extension of status;
  • H-1B change-of-employer petitions;
  • H-1B amendment petitions; 
  • H-1B concurrent employment petitions; 
  • H-1B petitions filed by cap-exempt organizations, including:
    • institutions of higher education; 
    • nonprofit research organizations; and
    • entities related or affiliated with an institution of higher education, a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization; 
  • H-1B petitions for J-1 nonimmigrants who received a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement based on certain interested state or federal agency requests; and
  • H-1B petitions for beneficiaries who were counted against the cap within the preceding six years, unless the beneficiary is entitled to request a new six-year period.

Employers should discuss alternative visa options with experienced immigration counsel now that the H-1B cap for FY 2012 has been met.
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases FY 2012 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers Updated as of October 7, 2011

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updated H-1B visa petition numbers for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, as of October 7, 2011. Since we last discussed H-1B petition numbers (based on filings as of August 26, 2011), 12,000 H-1B regular cap petitions were filed, bringing the total to 41,000. During the same period, 3,300 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed, bringing that total to 19,100 and very near to the cap amount of 20,000. The H-1B regular cap petitions filed thus far constitute approximately two-thirds of the 65,000 cap amount. Please note that once the Master’s Exemption cap is met, all petitions filed under this category will be applied to the general 65,000 cap automatically by USCIS.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2012 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated H-1B visa petition numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2012, as of August 26, 2011. Since data were last updated (based on filings as of August 12, 2011), 3,700 H-1B regular cap petitions were filed, bringing the total to 29,000. During the same period, 1,100 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed, bringing that total to 15,800. Although the number of H-1B regular cap eligible petitions filed is less than half of the cap amount – 65,000 – the cap eligible H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions filed constitute more than 75% of the cap amount – 20,000.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2012 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated H-1B visa petition numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2012. Since data were last updated (based on filings as of July 29, 2011), 2,600 H-1B regular cap petitions were filed, bringing the total to 25,300 as of August 12, 2011. During the same period, 900 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed, bringing that total to 14,700.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2012 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated H-1B visa petition numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2012: 22,700 H-1B regular cap petitions and 13,800 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed as of July 29, 2011. USCIS began accepting FY 2012 H-1B petitions on April 1, 2011. Limitations for FY 2012 are 65,000 H-1B regular cap visas and 20,000 H-1B Master’s Exemption visas.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

Proposed Rule Would Streamline H-1B Petition Process Beginning 2012

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a proposed rule designed to decrease administrative and employer costs associated with the H-1B petition process. Under the proposed rule, employers would electronically register with USCIS during an enrollment period of at least two weeks in March of each year, prior to the April 1 filing period start date. Participating employers would file a single registration for each prospective H-1B worker they seek to hire (i.e., multiple prospective H-1B workers could not be listed on a single registration). Unlike current requirements, procuring a Labor Condition Application (LCA) prior to filing a petition would not be required.

If USCIS anticipates that the filing cap (regular cap of 65,000; master’s degree exemption cap of 20,000) will not be reached by the first day of the filing period, the agency would notify electronic registrants of their eligibility to file a petition for the prospective H-1B workers named in the registrations. Petitioning employers would then proceed to submit the LCA. USCIS would continue to accept and select registrations until the cap is reached.

However, if USCIS anticipates the filing cap will be reached by the first day of the filing period, the agency would close the registration early and randomly select a “sufficient number” of timely filed registrations to meet the applicable cap. Only if a registration was among those randomly selected would the employer be able to file a petition for the person named in the registration. USCIS would place on a waitlist some (or all) remaining registrations based on agency estimates concerning the cap and anticipated filings.

USCIS contends that the proposed registration process will save the agency and H-1B filers as much as $23 million over ten years. The agency believes the registration process will only take employers 30 minutes, thereby reducing personnel, mailing and filing expenses normally incurred in the process.

According to a USCIS fact sheet on the proposed rule, the agency could implement the proposed registration system for the fiscal year 2013 H-1B season, which opens April 2012.

USCIS encourages formal comments on the proposed rule at www.regulations.gov. The comment period opened on March 3, 2011, and ends May 2, 2011. 
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

Fiscal Year 2011 Cap Reached for H-1B Visa Petitions

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the cap for H-1B petitions (65,000) has been met for FY 2011. Accordingly, USCIS will not consider petitions received after January 26, 2011. However, the agency will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

  • extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
  • change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
  • allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
  • allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

As previously noted, the 20,000 petition cap for H-1B Master’s Exemption visas was reached on January 7.

USCIS will continue to receive and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the caps.

April 1, 2011 is the first day that petitions may be received for FY 2012 with an October 1, 2011 start date.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

FY2011 Petition Cap Met for H-1B Master's Exemption Visa; 6,300 Regular H-1B Visas Remain

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated H-1B visa numbers for Financial Year 2011. As of January 7, 2011:

  • the 20,000-petition cap for H-1B Master’s Exemption visas has been met; and
  • 58,700 H-1B regular cap petitions have been filed, 6,300 petitions shy of the cap amount.

Although the H-1B Master’s Exemption visa cap has been met, USCIS will continue to accept these petitions and count them against the regular cap until said cap is reached.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2011 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has released updated H-1B visa numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2011: 53,900 H-1B regular cap petitions and 19,700 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed as of December 17, 2010. Limitations for FY 2011 are 65,000 H-1B regular cap visas and 20,000 H-1B Master’s Exemption visas. In the past three months, 15,600 regular cap and 5,700 Master’s Exemptions petitions were filed.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2011 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services LogoUnited States Citizenship and Immigration Services has released updated H-1B visa numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2011: 38,300 H-1B regular cap petitions and 14,000 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions were filed as of September 17, 2010. Limitations for FY 2011 are 65,000 H-1B regular cap visas and 20,000 H-1B Master’s Exemption visas. Filing numbers were strong initially, with 19,000 petitions filed in the first week, but slowed afterwards, as we noted in April and June.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Releases Updated FY 2011 H-1B Visa Petition Numbers

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated H-1B visa numbers for Financial Year (FY) 2011: 20,800 H-1B regular cap petitions and 8,700 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions have been filed as of May 28, 2010. As discussed previously, initial filing numbers were impressive, with 19,000 petitions submitted in the first week. Since then, however, per week filings have decreased in volume.

65,000 H-1B regular cap visas and 20,000 H-1B Master’s Exemption visas are available for FY 2011.

Tags: , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

Updated Numbers Released for Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B Visas

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that, as of April 22, 2010, it has received 16,025 H-1B Regular Cap and 6,739 H-1B Master’s Exemption petitions for Fiscal Year 2011 (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011). Petition filing slowed after an active first week in which over 19,000 petitions were submitted. In weeks two and three, combined, only 2,525 Regular Cap and 1,139 Master’s Exemption petitions were filed.

Tags: , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Continuing to Accept Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B Petitions

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is continuing to accept H-1B nonimmigrant visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2011 (October 1, 2010 to September 30, 2011). The agency began accepting petitions on April 1, 2010, and after one week had received approximately 13,500 petitions subject to the general cap and 5,600 petitions subject to the advanced degree exception. It took approximately nine months for USCIS to receive enough applications to meet the FY 2010 cap, with the bulk of petitions being filed by the end of October 2009.

The H-1B program allows businesses to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, e.g., science, engineering, computer programming. The program allows for 65,000 regular-cap visas, and an additional 20,000 visas for petitioners with advanced degrees (master’s degree or higher).

Tags: , , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Announces Updated H-1B Cap Count for Fiscal Year 2010

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that as of October 30, 2009, approximately 53,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed and received. It also announced that the 20,000 H-1B Advanced Degree Exemption cap had been met, and that all petitions filed for an individual with an advanced degree from a US academic institution will now be counted towards the general H-1B cap of 65,000. 

While the current annual H-1B cap is 65,000, it should be noted that 6,800 visas are set aside from the cap each year for the H-1B1 program that grants status to nationals of Chile and Singapore in accordance with Free Trade Agreements with each of these countries. This reduces the general H-1B cap to 58,200. Unused numbers in this pool of 6,800 visas are then applied to the general H-1B cap for use during the next fiscal year. USCIS has applied approximately 6,000 unused numbers from last year’s H-1B1 pool to this year's general H-1B cap. As such, even though 6,800 were subtracted from this year’s 65,000 cap, the unused numbers from last year’s pool have boosted available H-1B numbers to just under 65,000.

Last month, the demand for H-1B cap-subject petitions increased significantly to 6,100, which may be an indication that employers are slowly moving out of the economic crisis. Based on the increased demand for H-1B petitions and the closure of the 20,000 advanced degree exemption, it is anticipated that the H-1B cap will be met within the next 30-45 days. Consequently, employers should assess hiring needs immediately and expedite the filing of any H-1B cap-subject petitions before the cap closes. The next H-1B cap will open up for filing purposes on April 1, 2010 for H-1B petitions with a October 1, 2010 start date, so employers could face serious challenges in hiring highly-skilled professionals once this year's cap closes.

This entry was written by Ian Macdonald.
Tags: , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Updates H-1B Petition Numbers for Fiscal Year 2010

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of June 19, 2009, approximately 44,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

USCIS Issues Updated Count of Fiscal Year 2010 H-1B Petitions

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

On April 27 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 for the fiscal year 2010 program. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap.

In addition, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. Congress has mandated that the first 20,000 of these petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas. Even though the numbers are close, USCIS will continue to accept advanced degree petitions, since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable.

Regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions are available at the USCIS website.
 

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link

H-1B Cap Still Not Reached

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Immigration/Global Migration Group

On April 20, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided its second update regarding the H-1B cap count. USCIS has received approximately 44,000 H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap of 65,000. This represents only 1,000 additional filings since April 13th and means that new H-1B petitions may still be filed.

In addition, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 H-1B petitions eligible for the U.S. advanced degree exemption. Although the exemption is limited to 20,000 H-1Bs, USCIS continues to accept petitions since prior experience has shown that a certain percentage of submissions will be denied. Therefore, to reach the 20,000 petitions actually approved, USCIS must accept additional petitions.

This entry was written by Aimee Clark Todd.

Tags: , , , , , ,
  • Email This
  • Print
  • Trackbacks
  • Share Link