An official announcement from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was released Monday stating that H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2012 will be accepted starting April 1, 2011. Cases are accepted on a first come first served basis, according to the date the USCIS physically receives a complete petition and the respective payment (not the postmarked date) until the cap has been met. The allotted limit or regular cap for FY 2012 H-1B petitions is set at 65,000. An additional 20,000 H-1B petitions exist for individuals with U.S. master’s degrees or higher.

The USCIS monitors the influx of H-1B petitions and posts regular updates of the current cap count for the public. A separate notification is issued once the cap has been reached. If the USCIS receives more petitions than permitted, they may randomly determine an amount of petitions that will be included in the cap and therefore reject petitions that are not selected or submitted after the cap is met.

The H-1B program is used by employers to hire foreign workers with highly specialized knowledge for positions that require theoretical or technical expertise, such as (but not limited to) scientists, mathematicians, computer programmers or engineers. To avoid delays in processing and requests for evidence (RFE), the USCIS stresses the importance of following all guidelines when preparing H-1B petitions. VISANOW recommends attending our upcoming webinar, Increase Your Immigration Approval Rates While Lowering Hidden Costs, which will cover petition preparation and eluding government delays. Contact VISANOW with any other H-1B related questions or to start your H-1B petition today!


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