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USCIS Releases Updated Information on Filed H-1B Petitions

On December 7, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released updated information on H-1B non-immigrant visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2010 (beginning October 1, 2009), stating that as of December 4, 2009, it has received 61,100 of the 65,000 H-1B non-immigrant visa petitions needed to meet the H-1B regular cap, and that it has approved all 20,000 visa petitions needed to meet the U.S. master’s degree cap. If USCIS receives any new H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. master’s degree cap, those petitions will now count towards the regular H-1B cap of 65,000. USCIS will continue to accept new H-1B visa petitions filed under both the regular and U.S. master’s degree caps and monitor the number of petitions received, since not all petitions can be approved.

The government began accepting petitions on April 1.  This is the first time in recent years that the government has not received the necessary number of petitions to meet the cap within the first week.  The cap for H-1B visas was reached in the first five business days in 2008 and in the first two days in 2007, according to USCIS statistics.

Current holders of H-1B visas are not affected by the cap.  USCIS will continue to process petitions to:

• Extend the stay of current H-1B holders;
• Change the terms of employment of current H-1B holders;
• Allow current H-1B holders to change employers, unless the change involves a switch from a cap-exempt to a non-exempt employer;
• Allow current H-1B holders to obtain concurrent employment authorization with another employer;
• Work at exempt entities, such as institutions of higher education and related/affiliated organizations; or
• Allow J-1 physicians who have obtained a waiver of the home country residency requirement through the Conrad program, or similar federal programs, to change status to H-1B.

For more information or assistance with visa programs, contact the Jackson Lewis Global Immigration Practice Group.