U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Fiscal Year 2007 ("FY 2007") H-1B cap of 20,000 visa numbers set aside for individuals who hold a U.S.-earned master's or higher degree was reached on July 26, 2006. As a result, USCIS will not accept petitions that fall under this category after July 26, 2006, and petitions it received on this date will be subject to a computer-generated selection process that randomly selects the exact number of petitions needed to meet the Congressionally-mandated cap. After random selection, any remaining petitions that do not receive an FY 2007 number will be rejected and returned along with the filing fees. Petitions received after July 26, 2006, will be automatically rejected.

Petitions that are returned by USCIS may be refiled on April 1, 2007, the earliest date USCIS will begin accepting petitions for FY 2008, which begins October 1, 2007, and ends September 30, 2008.  Please note that October 1, 2007, is the earliest date a beneficiary of a successful H-1B petition filed under the FY 2008 quota could begin working for the petitioning employer.

Not all H-1B petitions are subject to the cap. H-1B extensions, amendments, concurrent H-1B positions, and H-1B transfers from one company to another are not affected by the cap. Also unaffected are persons who are exempt from the cap, such as persons seeking employment through institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and government research organizations.  In addition, there are special provisions for temporary workers from Chile and Singapore.

If you have concerns about the timing and filing of your H-1B petition or are thinking about filing an H-1B petition in the future, please contact us to discuss strategies and alternatives.