H1-B Visa Cap Already Met - Lottery to Decide the Fate

The much-sought after H1-B visa has already met the statutory 65,000 visa quota, all within a week, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is the first time the cap has been met within one week of the initial filing period since 2008, highlighting the extreme importance of this nonimmigrant visa category. 20,000 cap-exempt H1-B visa applications were also received in this time period under the advance degree exception.

According to the USCIS, approximately 124,000 H1-B visa applications were filed during this initial filing period. Since only 65,000 H1-B visas can be allotted for any given fiscal year, this means that the USCIS will have to use a computer-generated system, or lottery if you will, to decide who will receive these coveted visas.

USCIS will reject visa petitions that are subject to the cap and are not selected, as well as petitions received henceforth.

With comprehensive immigration reform around the corner, many technology companies are hoping that the H1-B cap provisions are increased, as they were in 2001-2003 when Congress increased the H1-B cap to 195,000 (but was never reached). Businesses are desperate to fill specialized positions that US Citizens and Nationals are not qualified to, or unwilling to, work for. This means that they have no choice other than to look abroad to fill these critically needed positions.

If you have any questions about the H1-B process, employment-based immigration in general, or need other immigration law advice, please call 949-440-3240 or visit www.kpimmigrationlaw.com. You are more than welcome to visit our Orange County office too located in Irvine, CA, but please call for an appointment first.