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FY2010 H-1B Visa Cap Reached

On December 22, 2009, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of December 21, 2009, it has received enough H-1B petitions to meet the H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2010 (beginning on October 1, 2009). In addition, USCIS has approved all 20,000 visa petitions needed to meet the U.S. master’s degree cap. USCIS will conduct a random lottery for all cap-subject petitions received on December 21, 2009, and will reject all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected or received after December 21, 2009.

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

1. Extend the stay of current H-1B holders;
2. Change the terms of employment of current H-1B holders;
3. Allow current H-1B holders to change employers unless the change involves a switch from a cap-exempt to a non-exempt employer;
4. Allow current H-1B holders to obtain concurrent employment authorization with another employer;
5. Work at exempt entities such as institutions of higher education and related/affiliated organizations; and
6. 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.