The FY2012 H1B visa season which began on April 1, 2011 has received its first quota update via the USCIS yesterday. The USCIS tends to release the updates sporadically and ultimately it is driven by the demand for the H1B visas and how quickly the quota fills up.

So currently 5,900 H1B visa petitions have been received thus far for the main cap and 4,500 have been taken in for foreign workers who hold a US Master’s degree bringing a total of 10,400. One the Master’s cap is filled, new petitions received go towards the main cap. None of these applications have been processed and accepted yet so when future total updates are released by the USCIS, numbers may be revised.

This means that if you have a prospect employer for the H1B visa you should still ensure you file your H1B petition in a timely manner and organize all your Application supporting documents. As while this is still not a landrush the whole Visa landscape has been largely unpredictable in recent years so there is no danger in ensuring your petition is in the front of the queue. Also note that the Premium Processing fee has gone up to $1,255 from $1,000 in recent years.

It should be noted that H1B visa petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will not be counted towards the congressionally mandated FY 2012 H-1B cap. Therefore, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed for the following reasons without regard for the above H1B visa quotas:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States.
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

Good luck to all application in their search for US employment and we hope we find all the articles and training items here of some use to you in your journey.

CJ