To our surprise, the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2013 H-1B cap season is quickly coming to a close. After only seven (7) weeks of accepting filings, USCIS recently announced that, as of May 18, approximately 42,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted. Additionally, USCIS announced that it has receipted 16,000 H-1B petitions for foreign nationals with U.S. advanced degrees.
When one considers that USCIS has been accepting 4,700 to 6,500 H-1B filings per week since the start of the FY 2013 cap season, it is our prediction that that Congress’ quota of 85,000 cap subject H-1B visas will be exhausted sometime in the next few weeks. This is a sharp contrast to last H-1B season when the cap was not reached until mid-November.
With that said, if your business is considering the sponsorship of an H-1B worker subject to the H-1B cap (e.g., a foreign student who is in F-1 status and working pursuant to OPT, or any other foreign national who is not currently or was not previously in H-1B status), you should strongly consider filing such petition as soon as possible before the H-1B visa numbers under the cap are exhausted. Otherwise, you may be left to wait until October 1, 2013 to hire new H-1B workers (when the 2014 H-1B quota becomes available).
Please note that H-1B visa extensions of stay and H-1B visa transfers (from one eligible U.S. H-1B employer to another) are not subject to the annual H-1B cap and, therefore, will continue to be regularly accepted by USCIS. Likewise, H-1B nonimmigrants who work at (but not necessarily for) eligible research institutions, universities and other qualifying non-profit facilities may also be excluded from the H-1B visa cap.
If you have any questions about the H-1B visa cap or would like to discuss appropriate alternatives to the H-1B category, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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