January 28, 2011
The USCIS announced yesterday that as of January 26, 2011, it had received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2011, which began on October 1, 2010. January 26, 2011 is the final receipt date for new H-1B petitions requesting a cap number for this fiscal year.
The final receipt date is the date the USCIS determines it has received enough cap-subject H-1B visa petitions to meet the maximum available of 65,000. The USCIS will receipt in any H-1B visa petitions received before January 26, 2011, and will reject and return with the filing fee any H-1B visa petitions received after January 26, 2011.
For those petitions received exactly on January 26, 2011, the USCIS will conduct a computer-generated random lottery and will receipt in properly filed H-1B visa petitions selected in the lottery and will reject and return those not selected. It is noteworthy that the 20,000 Master’s cap had been reached on December 22, 2010 and all persons holding an advanced U.S. degree have since been applied towards the general cap.
The fact that the H-1B cap has been reached does not mean that there is no H-1B availability. H-1B visa petitions that are not cap-subject may still be filed and processed.
These include:
H-1B Visa Petitions Previously Counted Against the Cap:
- Extension visa petitions filed for current H-1B holders;
- H-1B visa petitions for persons who, in the prior 6 years, have held H-1B visa status and were counted towards the H-1B cap even if they don’t hold H-1B visa status today;
- H-1B visa petitions to amend or change the terms of employment;
- Where current H-1B holders change employers; and
- Where current H-1B holders will work a concurrent H-1B position.
H-1B Visa Petitions Filed by Employers Not Subject to the H-1B Cap:
- Institutions of higher education;
- Nonprofit entities that are connected or associated with an institution of higher education; and
- Nonprofit or governmental research organizations.
The next opportunity to file H-1B visa petitions subject to the cap will be on April 1, 2011, for a start date of October 1, 2011. Read more in the official USCIS press release: www.uscis.gov.
