Tag Archives: h1b petition

H1B Visa Quota Update – November 2011 – Less Than 5,000 Visas Left

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The FY2012 H1B visa season commencing on April 1, 2011 has accelerated the H1B visa quota numbers throughout the post Summer period from September and is now getting close to being filled. At one stage it didn’t even look like we would get there before the end of the 2011 calendar year.

As October 1st is the start of the new year otherwise known as FY2012. That means if you have already been approved for an H1B visa since April 1, 2011, your new visa has already taken effect and you can legally begin working for your sponsor employer now. It also means that if you are sponsored now, given how long the application process takes even with premium processing, you will be able to start working immediately which is a great selling point for foreigners to a prospective employer and sponsor as opposed to earlier in the year.

So as of November 18, 2011, which is the most recent H1B quota update the USCIS has announced. There are currently 61,800 petitions to count towards the general 65,000 H1B visa cap which only includes petitions that are approved or pending. Anything that has already been denied is not included.

This equates to about another 5,500 increase in the main cap since the last USCIS update on November 14 which is a light slowing of the H1B visa approval acceleration of September to mid October. The Advanced Degree Exemption category which is now fully exhausted for this H1B visa season cycle as at October 21 for the 20,000 visas.

In the last weeks the main cap has gone up by over 10,000 and the Advanced exemption quota is almost complete so if you are a foreigner looking work in the US and be sponsored by a employer, don’t delay because for whatever reason there is certainly an acceleration happening in recent times.

Remember if you have a US graduate degree and eligible for the Advance Degree additional cap, that now that cap is exhausted your application just falls under the main H1B quota.

Cap Type Cap Amount Cap Eligible Petitions Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap 65,000 61,800 11/18/2011
H-1B Master’s Exemption 20,000 20,000 10/21/2011 (completed)

(It should be noted that the related H-1B1 visa for Chilean and Singaporean citizens are not included in this cap which is about 6,800 set aside each year but is rarely filled and unused from the previous year are used in the current year)

So it would seem that there is plenty of visas still available and judging by the moderate amount of applications received thus far, traditional H1B visa sponsor companies are still nowhere the levels of hiring they were in 2006-8,

Good Luck to All Who Are Searching!

Cj

H1B Visa Quota FY2012 April Update

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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.

Cap Type Total H1B Visas Current H1B Total

H-1B Regular Cap

65,000

5,900

H-1B Masters Exemption

20,000

4,500

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