H-1B CAP REACHED ON NOVEMBER 22, 2011

We all knew it was about to be reached but as of late Wednesday November 23, 2011, USCIS has announced that the H-1B cap was reached a day earlier on November 22, 2011, and will reject any H-1B cap applications filed after that day for fiscal year 2012. This is very disappointing because the prior cap update was based on Friday's receipts (just 2 days before) that USCIS announced that there were approximately 3,200 H-1B visas available. While we predicted that the cap would probably be reached by the end of November, the 1,500+ filings per day is a very large volume.
Employees that need a cap-subject H-1B must wait to file their petition until April 1, 2012, for an employment start date of October 1, 2012, which is almost a year out.
Congress should act and increase the quota now!

USCIS UPDATES 2012 H-1B COUNT ON 11/18/2011: AT 61,800

USCIS just released an H-1B cap update. As of November 18, 2011, they have received 61,800 petitions subject to the regular cap. The advanced degree quota has been already exhausted. That means there were about 3,200 visas as of last Friday so the quota will most probably be exhausted by the end of this week notwithstanding the holiday. The best case scenario would be exhaustion next week if the holiday slows down the filing some. It's crunch time.
Happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Does H-1B Usage Show Economy Picking Up?

After more than two years of anemic use of the H-1B visa, employers are suddenly applying in bigger numbers for the professional worker visa. As of today, more than 56,000 H-1Bs out of a quota of 65,000 have been used. The quota is likely to be exhausted some time in the next 2-3 weeks. That's two months ahead of last year. Despite what the protectionists say, H-1B usage reflects the market. When the economy is hot, H-1B numbers go fast. And when it's in the dumps, the numbers last a while. H-1B applications are also a leading indicator since employers often file months ahead of when they expect the visa and the candidate to be available. So one might see this news as reason for optimism.

USCIS UPDATES 2012 H-1B COUNT ON 11/14/2011: AT 56,300

USCIS just issued another H-1B cap update. As of November 14, 2011 (yesterday), they have received approximately 56,300 H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap. The master's degree quota has been reached previously. As there are approximately 65,000 H-1B visas available, there are less than 9,000 visas left. At a rate of about 3,000 visas per week there are 2 or 3 more weeks to go before the cap is reached, but it is very likely that it will be reached sooner as during the last weeks people are filing faster.
File now or lose it until next October 1, 2012.
If you need help, please call us at 770-913-0800 or visit our page at: http://www.visalaw.com/atlanta.html

USCIS UPDATES 2012 H-1B COUNT ON 11/2/2011: AT 50,800

USCIS issued an H-1B cap update. As of November 2, 2011, USCIS has received approximately 50,800 H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap of 65,000. The advanced degree quota has already been exhausted. There are less than 14,000 visas available, so probably the cap will be reached by the end of November or early December 2011.
Hurry up and file if you need a visa before October 2012!

USCIS UPDATES 2012 H-1B COUNT ON 10/28/2011: AT 49,200

USCIS just issued another H-1B cap update. As of October 28, 2011 USCIS has received 49,200 H-1B visas towards the cap of 65,000. At an increase of 3,000 visas from last week, the H-1B cap is being reached very quickly, likely to be reached in December. The pace will pick up in the next few weeks. Anyone contemplating filing must do so now before the numbers run out as there are less than 16,000 visas available as of a few days ago.
If you need any help, please contact our office at 770-913-0800 or visit our webpage at http://www.visalaw.com/atlanta.html