USCIS Updates H-1B FY 2010 Cap Count

As of November 20, 2009, approximately 56,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for those with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of a worker with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H-1B cap of 65,000.

USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions has been received to reach the statutory limit, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

The recent pace of filings suggests that H-1B numbers may be exhausted for this fiscal year very soon. After that, employers will be left with limited alternatives for hiring skilled foreign nationals when U.S. workers are unavailable until filings for the next fiscal year can be made.

For more info, visit USCIS www.uscis.gov