H1B UPDATE 4-27-09:The USCIS announced today that they have received approximately 45,000 H1b cap subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the US Masters degree exemption. The USCIS continues to accept applications in both categories.
H1B UPDATE 4-20-09: The USCIS announced today that it has received approximately 44,000 H1b petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap and that they continue to accept petitions subject to the general H1b cap. In addition, they have received approximately 20,000 petitions toward the H1b Masters Cap (which provides for 20,000 additional H1bs above the 65,000 general H1b cap) for graduates with US masters degrees or higher); the CIS continues to accept petitions toward the Masters Cap because not all petitions filed are approvable so they accept a certain number above the quota amount in order to ensure that they have enough approvable cases to reach the 20,000 limit.
H1B UPDATE 4-9-09: The USCIS announced today that it has received approximately 42,000 H1b petitions counting toward the congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap and that they continue to accept petitions subject to the cap.
H1B UPDATE 4-8-09: The H1b quota was not reached within the first five business days of the 2010 fiscal year so H1b applications will continue to be accepted until the quota is reached. The USCIS received approximately half of the number of applications needed to reach the quota within the first five business days.
USCIS NOTICE:
USCIS Update
April 8, 2009
USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2010 H-1B Petitions
WASHINGTON U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it continues to accept H-1B nonimmigrant visa petitions subject to the fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010) cap. USCIS will continue to monitor the number of H-1B petitions received for both the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 U.S. masters degree or higher educational exemption cap.
Should USCIS receive the necessary number of petitions to meet the respective caps, it will issue an update to advise the public that, as of a certain date (the "final receipt date"), the respective FY 2010 H-1B caps have been met. The final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically receives the petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked. The date or dates USCIS informs the public that the respective caps have been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.
To ensure a fair system, USCIS may randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received as of the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.
Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers, who have been counted previously against the cap, will not count toward the congressionally mandated FY 2010 H-1B cap. Therefore, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
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.
H-1B in General U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.
USCIS
H1B UPDATE 4-2-09: No information yet from the USCIS regarding how many H1b applications have been received. There have been reports of issues with delivery/delivery confirmation of Fed Ex deliveries to the California Service Center on 4/1. For our clients, please note that we have received delivery confirmations on all of our filings. The California Service Center received approximately 15000 fed ex packages yesterday but approximately 7000 of these were scanned but not entered into the system properly due to scanning equipment failure. These packages were all delivered & they are in the process of updating the information to reflect this. There is also apparently a scanning delay with the UPS at the Vermont Service Center. If your package did not arrive on 4/1, there is no need to panic. All cases received through Tuesday 4/7 will be included in the H1b lottery if the H1b quota is reached on any of the first five business days of April.
H1B UPDATE 4-1-09: The USCIS began accepting H1b applications today for the FY2010 H1b quota. There is no information yet regarding how many cases have been received. Most informal surveys indicate that fewer H1b cases will be filed this year than in the previous two years due to the economic recession in the US...but there is no accurate information regarding how many H1b applications this will be.
If the H1b quota is reached in any of the first five business days (i.e. Wed 4/1 to Tues 4/7), all H1b applications received on those five business days will be included in the H1b lottery. If the USCIS receives enough H1b cases to reach the H1b quota on any day after 4/7, then only those cases received on the 'final receipt date' (i.e. the day the quota is reached) will be included in the H1b lottery and all of those H1b cases received prior to the 'final receipt date' will be processed by the USCIS.
2-24-09: No projections on the number of H1bs that will be filed this year are available. Statistics and percentage estimates on anticipated filings circulating via the internet are not accurate. The USCIS has asked the American Immigration Lawyers Association to provide survey information from its members regarding whether or not they are experiencing an increase or decrease in the number of filings anticipated...but no specific numbers are being requested and this information has not yet been transmitted to the USCIS.
The CIS reports having completed data entry on all cases selected in the H1b lottery on May 23, 2008 and all receipts were issued by May 24, 2008. They have also stated that they have sufficient applications accepted so that a 'cushion' will not be needed this year and they have begun to mail out rejections for reserve cases (i.e. wait list) this week. The CIS currently has approximately 500 petitions they believe are duplicates and are in the process of hand reviewing these cases. Any of these cases that are determined to be actual duplicates will be rejected and those that are not will be accepted.
HIB QUOTA UPDATE 4-15-08
The USCIS announced that it conducted the H1b lottery for both the H1b US Masters quota and the H1b general quota yesterday. The H1b US Masters degree quota was run first. Any H1b applications filed under the US Masters degree H1b quota that were not chosen were then added to the general H1b quota applications and then the general H1b quota lottery was run. The USCIS had labelled each of the approximately 163,000 H1b applications received with unique numerical identifiers for purposes of the H1b lottery.
The USCIS anticipates that H1b employers will receive H1b receipt notices for all H1b cases that were chosen in the H1b lottery no later than June 2, 2008. Any H1b cases not chosen in the H1b lottery will be returned with the fees to the H1b employer or attorney of record on the case (with the exception of duplicate H1b filing cases in which the USCIS will retain the fees per the new duplicate H1b filing regulation). The CIS has stated that the 'total adjudication process is expected to take approximately eight to ten weeks.'
For any H1b cases filed via premium processing, the 15 day premium processing period began 4/14/08.
The USCIS has 'wait-listed' some H1b petitions, meaning they may possibly replace H1b petitions chosen to receive a FY2009 H1b cap number in the lottery that are subsequently denied, withdrawn, or otherwise found ineligible. The USCIS will retain those H1b petitions until a decision is made whether they will replace a previously selected H1b petition. USCIS will send a letter to the H1b employer for H1b cases chosen to be on the wait list to inform them of the status. The USCIS expects that it will issue a receipt notice or return the H1b petition with fees within six to eight weeks for any wait-listed H1b applications.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-10-08 AFTERNOON
USCIS just announced a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H1b applications received between 4/1/08-4/7/08 with more than 31,200 of those petitions being in the advanced degree category. The CIS anticipates conducting the H1b lottery next week. The H1b masters degree lottery will be conducted prior to the general H1b quota lottery. H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-10-08
The CIS still has not released any information regarding the actual number of H1b applications received and no information is available yet regarding when the H1b quota will be run.
The CIS released a Frequently Asked Questions sheet regarding OPT extensions which is available on our H1b News page. Also, the CIS has revised the EAD application form (Form I-765) and the old version of the form will only be accepted through 5/8/08.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-9-08
The CIS still has not released any information regarding the number of H1b applications received--not even estimates are available. They also have not provided any further information regarding when the H1b lottery will be run.
We have added analysis & commentary regarding the new OPT extension rule today on our H1b News page.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-8-08 11:50 AM PST
We have received a high volume of telephone calls in response to the news that the H1b general quota and H1b masters quota have been reached requesting to know the number of H1b applications received. To clarify, the CIS has announced that both the H1b general quota & the H1b masters quota have been reached, but they have not released any information yet regarding the actual number of H1b applications received. As soon as we receive any information regarding the number of H1b applications received we will immediately update our website with that information.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-8-08 11:00AMPST--H1B CAP REACHED!!!!
USCIS just announced that the H1b cap has been reached for the 2009 Fiscal Year.The CIS has stated that it has received enough H1b applications to fill the general H1b quota and the H1b US Masters Degree quota.Before running the H1b lottery, the USCIS will complete initial data entry for all filings received during the filing period between 4/1/08-4/7/08.The CIS has not yet announced the day the lottery will be conducted, however, they have stated that the lottery for the US Masters Degree cases will be run prior to the general H1b lottery.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-8-08
There is still no information available yet on the number of H1b applications received by the USCIS to date.
Per the CIS' new processing rules, all H1b applications received in the first 5 days of the H1b filing period would be subjected to the H1b lottery if the H1b quota was reached in any of the first five days of the H1b filing period. What this means is that if the H1b quota was not reached as of yesterday, then all of the H1b applications filed through yesterday will be safe from inclusion in H1b lottery and will be processed as usual. If the H1b quota is not reached until today or later, then only the H1b applications received on the 'final receipt date' (i.e. the day that the CIS receives enough applications to fill the H1b quota) will be subjected to the H1b lottery. Thus, all H1b applications received prior to the 'final receipt date' will be processed as usual, those H1b applications received on the 'final receipt date' will be subjected to the H1b lottery, and those H1b applications received after the 'final receipt date' will be returned unprocessed. The CIS has not yet announced a 'final receipt date.' Unfortunately, however, that does not mean that the H1b applications filed to date are safe yet. Historically, in years where the H1b quota was reached prior to the end of the fiscal year, the CIS has announced the 'final receipt date' several days to approximately one week after the 'final receipt date.' The exception to this was last year, when the CIS announced the H1b quota was reached on the first day of the H1b filing period. So until we receive either a 'final receipt date' announcement from the CIS or an official count of the number of H1b applications received to date from the CIS, we will not know for sure the fate of the H1b applications already filed with the USCIS.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-7-08
The CIS still has not released any information regarding the number of H1b applications received to date. Both the California Service Center and the Vermont Service Center have issued some receipt notices for cases subject to the H1b quota cap despite the fact that they stated prior to 4-1-08 that they would not be issuing any H1b receipts for H1b cap-subject cases until after the H1b lottery is run. The assumption is that these H1b receipt notices have been issued in error, because the H1b receipt notices were issued prior to 4/7/08 [if the H1b cap is reached in any of the first 5 days of the H1b filing period, all of the H1b applications received in the first 5 days will be included in the H1b lottery----and clearly prior to 4/7/08, the CIS would not know if the H1b cases for which they are sending out receipt notices will be subject to the H1b lottery].
The text of the rule extending OPT by 17 months is available on our H1b News Page. Detailed analysis of the OPT rule be added to our website shortly.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-4-08
No update on the number of H1b cases received by the CIS yet. In a memo on another topic this morning, the CIS stated that they will announce a final receipt date once they have recevied enough H1b cases to meet the H1b quota. The statement as worded gave the impression that they have not received enough applications yet; however, most likely it just means that they are significantly behind in counting the number of cases received since they have not provided any type of count to date.
The USCIS also announced today the release of the interim final rule regarding extension of OPT from 12 to 29 months for 'qualified F-1 non-immigrant students.' The breadth of this extension, unfortunately, is more limited than what the title implied. The extension will be available to F1 students with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics who are employed by businesses enrolled in the E-Verify program. To be eligible for an OPT extension, an F-1 student must:
1) Currently be participating in a 12-month period of approved post-completion OPT; 2) Have successfully completed a degree in science, engineering, technology, or mathematics (STEM) included in the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List from a college or university certified by teh US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Student and Exchange Visitor Program; 3) Be working for a U.S. employer in a job directly related to the student's major area of study; 4) Be working for, or accepted employment with, an employer enrolled in US Citizenship adn Immigration Services' E-Verify program. E-Verify is a free internet-based system operated in partnership with the Social Security Administration that helps employers to determine the employment eligibility of newly-hired employees; and 5) Properly maintain F-1 status.
A section of the memo also reads, 'Another aspect of the rule responds to the situation in which an F-1 student's status and work authorization expires before he or she can begin employment under the H-1B visa program. The interim final rule addresses this problem by automatically extending the period of stay and work authorization for all F-1 students with pending H-1B petitions. The rule will also implement certain programmatic changes, including allowing students to apply for OPT within 60 days of graduation.'
A COPY OF THE RULE TEXT HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED. IT WILL BE POSTED TO OUR WEBSITE AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-3-08-AFTERNOON
Fed Ex apparently forwarded a number of H1B packages to the service centers without entering the individual package into the tracking system. If your H1b filing is affected by this, please note that the USCIS is trying to resolve the situation with Fed Ex and the USCIS has stated to NOT submit duplicate packages that are missing the tracking numbers because both applications could get denied under the new duplicate filing rules. ATTENTION INFINITI LAW CLIENTS: INFINITI LAW HAS RECEIVED DELIVERY CONFIRMATION ON ALL H1B PACKAGES SUBMITTED TO BOTH SERVICE CENTERS AND SO OUR CLIENTS ARE NOT AFFECTED BY THIS SITUATION.
H1B QUOTA UPDATE 4-3-08
There still is no information available on the number of H1b applications received by the USCIS so far. The CIS has stated that they will be reviewing H1b cases subject to the H1b quota cap received for duplicate H1b filings. The CIS has stated that it will first analyze whether a duplicate H1b petition exists based on preliminary data entry information. Once a potential H1b duplicate has been identified, the CIS officer will then pull the H1b petitions and evaluate them to ensure that they are actually duplicate H1b filings. Any H1b filings which have the same H1b petitioner & the same H1b beneficiary will be denied outright. H1b petitions by related companies for the same H1b beneficiary where independent business need is not evident may be issued a Request for Evidence giving the H1b petitioner an opportunity to explain.
QUOTA UPDATE 4-2-08
There is still no information available regarding how many H1b cases have been received by the CIS so far. The Fed Ex service disruption due to weather caused Fed Ex to be unable to deliver many of the H1b packages headed to the Vermont Service Center that were scheduled to arrive at the CIS yesterday. Those packages will be delivered today.
QUOTA UPDATE 4-1-08
NUMBER OF H1B CASES RECEIVED: Today is the first day of the H1b filing period for the 2009FY. There is no information available yet regarding how many H1b petitions the USCIS has received today.
DELIVERY DISRUPTION: Fed Ex announced today that they had a service disruption last night and this morning so packages that are scheduled to arrive today might not be delivered on time. The Fed Ex Memphis hub and flight operations experienced substantial disruptions last night and this morning due to heavy rain and thunderstorms.
2007 H1B QUOTA COUNT
Update 5/4/07:
The USCIS announced today that the FY 2008 H1b US Masters Degree Exemption Cap has been reached as of 4/30/07. The general H1b quota cap was reached on 4/2/07, but an additional 20,000 slots were available for holders of masters degrees or higher from US universities (i.e. the US Masters Cap). The USCIS has stated that 4/30/07 is the 'final receipt date.' All H1b applications received on 4/30/07 will be subject to a random selection process (i.e. lottery). Any H1b applications not chosen will be returned along with the H1b filing fees. Any H1b applications received after 4/30/07 will be rejected. Those H1b applications filed prior to 4/30/07 will be processed as usual & will not be subjected to the H1b lottery.
Update 4/30/07:
CIS has received 19,673 H1b applications toward the 20,000 US Masters degree H1b quota as of the date of their last count on 4/26/07.
Update 4/26/07:
CIS has received 18,747 H1b applications toward the 20,000 US Masters degree H1b quota as of the date of their last count on 4/24/07.
Update 4/21/07:
CIS has received 18,649 H1b applications toward the 20,000 US Masters degree H1b quota.
Update 4/18/07:
CIS has received 17,969 H1b applications toward the 20,000 US Masters degree H1b quota.
Update 4/12/07:
CIS has stated that the H1b random number generator was run on April 12, 2007. No further information has been provided.
Update 4/10/07:
CIS provided an updated count of FY 2008 H1b cap filings today. The CIS announced that as of 4/9/07, the CIS has determined that approximately 119,193 of the H1b petitions received on April 2 and 3 are subject to the FY 2008 congressionally mandated H1b cap. The CIS received on April 2 and 3 a total of approximately 12, 989 H1b cases requesting an exemption for the FY 2008 H1b cap because they were filed on behalf of aliens holding a master's degree or higher from a US institution. Thus, the US master's degree filing category is still open.
Update 4/9/07:
CIS imposes conditions on availability of premium processing for H1b petitions subject to the FY2008 cap rather than suspending or terminating the premium processing service for H1bs. The CIS asserts that it has the authority to announce conditions to the premium processing service under 8 CFR 103.2(f)(2). Consequently, the CIS has clarified that the 15 day premium processing period will begin only after the computer-generated random lottery has selected the H1b petitions for processing.
Update 4/5/07:
CIS has announced that it has received 133,000 unique pieces of mail containing H1b petitions (but each piece of mail may contain more than one H1b petitions)---so a final H1b count is not yet available.
UPDATE AFTERNOON 4/3/07:H1B CAP HAS BEEN REACHED!!!
USCIS ANNOUNCED THIS AFTERNOON THAT IT RECEIVED ENOUGH CASES TO REACH THE H1B CAP ON 4/2/07. ALL H1B CAP-SUBJECT CASES RECEIVED 4/2/07 & 4/3/07 WILL BE SUBJECTED TO A RANDOM SELECTION PROCESS. NO ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN MADE YET REGARDING THE US MASTERS DEGREE H1B CAP.
The 'final receipt date' for H1bs was announced as 4/2/07. Per CIS regulations, the CIS will subject H1b petitions received on the 'final receipt date' and the following day to a computer-generated random selection process. All cap-subject H1b cases received on or after 4/4/07 will be rejected. Any cap-subject H1b cases filed on 4/2/07 & 4/3/07 that are not selected for processing will be returned with the H1b filing fees.
The USCIS does not have a count yet for the Masters Degree H1b quota and has not yet made an announcement regarding the 'final receipt date' for those H1b petitions.
UPDATE MORNING 4/3/07:
Still no official reports from the USCIS regarding the H1b quota and how many H1b petitions were received yesterday & today.
UPDATE AFTERNOON 4/2/07:
Still no official reports from the USCIS regarding the H1b quota and the number of filings received---although it appears that the H1b quota will be well exceeded and the USCIS will need to implement the H1b lottery system for these filings. Reports are that the Vermont Service Center has received over 100,000 packages (40,000 UPS, 50,000 Fed Ex, 10,000 DHL and then US mail & other couriers). The California Service Center has received an equal number (Fed Ex in Irvine alone had 48,000). Many packages, of course, contain multiple H1b filings. Many attorneys have not been able to get confirmation regarding their Fed Ex, UPS, etc packages because the couriers are overwhelmed. If the figures being reported by the courier services are correct, the USCIS will have to implement a lottery system for the H1bs. Under the H1b lottery system, all H1b applications received today (4/2) and tomorrow (4/3) will be included. So, if your case, like many others, has not been able to get through today & has been rescheduled for delivery tomorrow, then you will still be included in the H1b lottery. We will update this website as soon as there is any official word from the USCIS.
4/2/07 H1B QUOTA UPDATE:
Today is the first day of the new H1b filing period. No official reports yet from the USCIS regarding the H1b quota and the number of H1b filings received. The Vermont office of Fed Ex reports that they were delivering a tractor trailer load full of petitions to the USCIS this morning and that their counterpart in California had twice as many----which appears to be well beyond 65,000 per Fed Ex. If you add in DHL, USPS Express Mail, private couriers, etc., it would not be surprising if the total well exceeds 65,000. If the H1b petitions filed today exceed the H1b quota limit, then the cases would be selected via random audit (i.e. so it does not make a difference if your case was received at 8am or 4pm today). We are monitoring this situation closely and will be updating this website as soon as any additional information is available.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this website is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The information should not be relied upon in making any legal decisions. Details vary from case-to-case and laws are constantly changing; the information on this website is not comprehensive nor is it necessarily up-to-date. It is highly recommended that you obtain the assistance of an attorney in regard to any legal matter.
