The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported today that as of yesterday’s count, 34,900 H-1B visa applications have been accepted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011.  The USCIS will continue to accept applications until the annual quota of 65,000 authorized by Congress is reached. The application period for FY 2011 H-1B visas began on April 1, 2010.  Based on the [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported today that on April 1, 2010, applications for H-1B visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 will be accepted.  The USCIS will consider a case as accepted only when the USCIS’ mail room takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct filing fee. The numerical limitation on H-1B petitions for FY 2011 [...]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B visa applications to reach the Congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The USCIS has determined that December 21, 2009 was the final receipt date for new H-1B visa applications filed by employers requesting a start date in FY 2010. The final receipt date is the [...]

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services  (USCIS) reported today that as of November 6, 2009, about 54,700 H-1B applications subject to the annual quota of 65,000 have been submitted. The USCIS has already enough H-1B applications under the advanced degree cap of 20,000 visas for foreign nationals who have Masters or Ph.D. degrees. All other H-1B applications submitted including applications where foreign nationals have advanced degrees will now count toward the general H-1B cap [...]

The US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) reported today that as of their last count on June 5, 2009, approximately 44,400 H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 have been received by USCIS and counted towards the 65,000 quota. The USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions until the number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the [...]

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) has updated the number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program. The total applications filed as of April 26, 2009 is 45,000, which is 20,000 short of the H-1B Cap. The USCIS has received 20,000 petitions for applicants with advanced degrees, known as the H-1B Masters Cap.  USCIS will, however, continue [...]

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 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 [...]