UPDATE!

10/15/2010 - According to U.S.C.I.S., 42,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been receipted. Also, 15,700 H-1B petitions have been receipted for aliens with advanced degrees. U.S.C.I.S. issues 65,000 regular H-1B visas per year, and an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign employees with a US master's degree or higher.

For additional information please click here.

10/01/2010 - According to U.S.C.I.S., 40,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been receipted. Also, 14,900 H-1B petitions have been receipted for aliens with advanced degrees. U.S.C.I.S. issues 65,000 regular H-1B visas per year, and an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign employees with a US master’s degree or higher.

For additional information please click here.

09/03/2010 - According to U.S.C.I.S., 36,600 H-1B cap-subject petitions have been receipted. Also, 13,400 H-1B petitions have been receipted for aliens with advanced degrees. U.S.C.I.S. issues 65,000 regular H-1B visas per year, and an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign employees with a US master’s degree or higher.

For additional information please click here.

06/01/2009 - U.S.C.I.S. is still accepting H-1B petitions! According to the most recent figures, only 45,800 H-1B Cap petitions, of the available 65,000, have been received to date. U.S.C.I.S. will continue accepting H-1B petitions, including advanced degree cases, until the Cap is met. You can find more information about the H-1B Cap and follow the ongoing Cap count here.

MEMORANDUM

To: Our Clients

From: Friedberg & Trombi

Date: March 2, 2009

RE: FY 2010 H-1B Petitions

As you may be aware, we are swiftly approaching an important date in the U.S. immigration calendar. On April 1, 2009, the government will begin accepting Petitions for Nonimmigrant Workers in the H-1B category for Fiscal Year 2010. There will be 65,000 visas available for new temporary workers with at least a Bachelor’s degree and another 20,000 visas for those with a Master’s degree issued in the United States. Workers approved under this visa category will be eligible to begin employment on or after 10/01/2009.

The events of last year showed that the number of visas available are insufficient to meet the demand. The USCIS will stop accepting petitions once they have met the projected “cap,” or when they think there will be no more visas available. In 2007 and 2008, the cap was met on the very first day petitions were accepted, and all of those cases were entered into a lottery to be randomly selected for processing. Cases that were not selected were forced to wait another year to submit their petitions again. The USCIS is expecting a large number of applicants on April 1st of this year.

As there will be a considerable rush to get applications filed on April 1, we are encouraging you to bring your applicants to us as soon as possible, so that we may have all paperwork complete and ready to file on March 31. If your company is contemplating any new hires that may be subject to the H-1B cap, please be aware of the upcoming deadline, and contact us as soon as possible to discuss a course of action.

Please note that this does not apply to employees needing an extension of H-1B status, or a request to change H-1B employers. The deadline is for new applicants only.

We want all of our clients to have the best opportunity for successful petitions. Let’s prepare early and get all the applications in on time.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

FRIEDBERG & TROMBI