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Federal law limits the number of H-1b’s that the CIS can grant in a year to
65,000 for most H-1b’s. This quota does not include people who work for
universities, non-profit organizations or who have already received H-1b status.
The government allows an additional 20,000 H-1b’s for people who received
master’s degrees from a U.S. college or university.
The CIS begins accepting applications for H-1b’s for the following fiscal year
on April 1. In 2007, the CIS received enough applications for H-1b visas on
April 1 to completely fill the quota. In addition, the quota for H-1b’s for
master’s degrees was filled on April 25.
This limitation applies only to people who are applying for an H-1b visa for the
first time, and not to people who already have H-1b status or who work for a
non-profit or governmental agency. Therefore, people who are applying for
extensions of H-1b status or who need to apply for an H-1b to change jobs are
not subject to this restriction.
People may start applying for new H-1b visas for the next fiscal year on April
1, 2008. However, the government will most likely receive enough applications on
that day to fill the quota for fiscal year 2009 and that should be true for the
master’s degree quota also..
What should you do if you need an H-1b visa, and the cap has been hit. You will
need to have some other type of visa status to carry you through until you can
apply again. You should consult my office about the very best visa status or
strategy to allow you to remain in the U.S. |
