USCIS Issues Updated Count of Fiscal Year 2010 H-1B Petitions

On April 27 the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 for the fiscal year 2010 program. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap.

In addition, USCIS has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. Congress has mandated that the first 20,000 of these petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas. Even though the numbers are close, USCIS will continue to accept advanced degree petitions, since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable.

Regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions are available at the USCIS website.