In a news release published yesterday, the USCIS announced that approximately 19,100 H-1B petitions subject to the "H-1B Cap" for Fiscal Year 2011 were received in the first week of filing. The USCIS began accepting new H-1B petitions for FY2011 on Thursday, April 1, 2010. As of Wednesday April 7, 2010, 13,500 H-1B petitions subject to the regular 65,000 quota were received, and 5,600 subject to the 20,000 advanced degree exemption were received. Note that FY2011 begins on October 1, 2010.
What This Means to You
For the time being, employers may continue to file H-1B petitions subject to the FY2011 annual cap. However, given the uncertainty of when the cap will be reached, we recommend filing as soon as possible. Although the cap for FY2010 was not reached until December, 2009, in previous years it has been reached much earlier in the year. For example, more than 150,000 H-1B petitions subject to the FY2009 cap were received during the first couple days that employers were eligible to file in April 2008.
Note that in most cases individuals seeking H-1B status will not be subject to the H-1B cap if one of the following applies:
- The individual has held or been granted H-1B status within the last six years, and has not used the total 6 years normally allowed for H-1B status;
- The petitioning employer is a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization; or,
- The petitioning employer is an institute of higher education or a related or affiliated research institute.
Please contact our office if you have questions on whether or not a prospective H-1B employee is subject to the FY2011 cap.
For the most recent updates on the FY2011 H-1B Cap count, please visit the USCIS website.
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