The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported recently that H-1B visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 continue to be available. As of August 28, 2009, about 45,100 H-1B applications subject to this fiscal year’s annual numerical cap and about 20,000 applications subject to the advanced degree cap have been received.  The USCIS will continue to accept both types of applications until they determine that enough H-1B [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday an update on the number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally mandated 65,000 cap. We reported back on April 28, 2009 that there were 20,000 visas available.  Surprisingly, the number of applications received by [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it has received approximately 44,000 H-1B petitions towards the Congressionally mandated 65,000 cap. The USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Historically, the general H-1B visa cap has been reached within the first one to two days of the application period.  However, last year, the USCIS kept [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) says that during the initial filing window for H-1B’s it has has received less than half the number of petitions needed to reach the 65,000 H-1B cap. Charles H. Kuck, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) commented on the decrease in applications:  This indicates that H-1B filings really [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an update a few minutes ago that it will continue to accept H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. It seems that the USCIS hasn’t received the requisite number of petitions to meet the congressionally mandated caps of 65,000 applications under the regular cap, and 20,000 for [...]

The Seattle Times reports today that with increasing layoffs, the downturn of the economy, and a slow down in hiring, Microsoft Corp. has applied for fewer H-1B visas for specialty occupations. Microsoft’s General Counsel Brad Smith said “Microsoft still sees the H-1B program as an important part of its strategy to hire the best people, regardless of their citizenship.” “I don’t think it’s feasible or [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year 2010 (FY 2010) cap on April 1, 2009.  Petitions will be considered as accepted on the date that USCIS processes payment of the filing fees associated with the petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked. USCIS will [...]