Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of December 21, 2009, it has received sufficient petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year 2010. Also, USCIS has received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of applicants exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions that are subject to the cap and were received on December 21, 2009. Employers should note that even those petitions that were filed before the cap closed may be returned by USCIS once the final cap count is completed.
New H-1B cap-subject petitions cannot be filed until April 1, 2010 for an October 1, 2010 start date. Employers should start assessing alternative visa options for affected foreign nationals right away.
In addition, employers who have hired graduates from U.S. schools should keep in mind that they may be able to take advantage of the “cap-gap” provision or STEM provision to continue the employment of those graduates in the absence of H-1B numbers.