FY 2012 H-1B Cap Season Opens
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 Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services opens the FY 2012 H-1B Cap Season.
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.
The government has placed a strict numerical cap on H-1B visas. Each year only 65,000 new H-1B visas can be issued (an additional 20,000 are issued to foreign nationals who have obtained U.S. Master's Degrees).
However, not all H-1B workers are subject to the cap. H-1B workers employed by institutions of higher education, non-profits associated with institutions of higher education, or nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations are not subject to the cap. You are also not subject to this quota if you have been issued an H-1B visa in the last six years.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services begins accepting petitions for the following fiscal year's quota on April 1st. Although many of these petitions will be approved over the next few months, these visas cannot be issued until October 1st, the beginning of the government's Fiscal Year.
In the past, the quota for H-1B visas was exhausted on April 1st, but application trends over the last couple of years suggest that this will not be the case in FY 2012. In FY 2011, the cap was not reached until mid-January 2011.
If you are an employer interested in hiring a foreign worker under the FY 2012 H-1B Cap, now is the time to contact us!
We will provide you with periodic updates on how many visas remain, but you may also follow along yourself at Citizenship and Immigration Services' website.
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April 2011 Visa Bulletin
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 The U.S. Department of State has now published the latest Visa Availability dates for April 2011. If you know your category and you have your Priority Date, you may go directly to their website to check. The monthly Visa Bulletin will also provide
current information on Visa Lottery. State Department Visa Bulletin: April 2011 |
