H-1B Cap Reached for Advanced Degree Holders for Fiscal Year 2007
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") announced in a press release today that it had received more than enough H-1B petitions to meet the Cap for "foreign workers who have earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education" to meet the exemption limit of 20,000 for fiscal year 2007. Unless Congress acts to increase the annual Cap, the soonest that employers will be able to file new H-1B petitions that do not qualify for one of the exceptions listed below will be on April 1, 2007, for a October 1, 2007 start date.
Exceptions to the H-1B Cap
The following persons are not subject to the regular H-1B Cap:
- Persons who are currently in H-1B status, or have been granted H-1B status in the last six years and have not left the US for an entire years since being granted this status;
- Citizens of Australia, Chile and Singapore, who qualify for a special allocation of E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile and Singapore) visas pursuant to free trade agreements with these countries; and,
- Persons offered employment at certain nonprofit academic and research organizations which are exempt from the Cap.
If you have additional questions regarding the H-1B Cap please contact our office. To learn more about the alternatives to H-1B sponsorship, please see Bridging the Cap Gap in the resources section of our website.
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