U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) anounced that as of May 24, 2005, it had received more than 6,393 H-1B petitions that will count against the Fiscal Year 2005 exemption cap of 20,000 H-1B visas for individuals who hold a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution. These additional 20,000 H-1B visas, provided for by the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, became available on May 12, 2005 .

Therefore, if you have an employee or prospective employee who holds a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution and would like to sponsor him or her for H-1B status , please contact our office as soon as possible.