Visas & Advice Detail
H-1B visa applications welcomed
The authority governing immigration into the US recently announced that H-1B visas are still available for the next fiscal year.
In recent years the annual quota of just 65,000 general H-1B visas (plus 20,000 H-1B visas reserved for applicants with US masters degrees) has been met within a matter of days of 1 April – the first day applications will be considered.
However last year bucked the trend of over-subscription, with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) keeping the doors open for new applications for many months – and this year has continued in the same vein.
According to a USCIS announcement in the middle of last month, there had been only enough applications to fill a little more than 20 per cent of the 65,000 available H-1B visas under the general cap - with just 5,600 further petitions from individuals holding masters degrees.
USCIS is to make regular updates on the numbers of H-1B visa applications they receive until the quota has been filled. Applications received after a USCIS announcement that the 65,000 cap has been reached will not be accepted, with a lottery taking place to determine which applications received on the final receipt date will be processed.
The H-1B visa category is useful for all professional level workers, with details of the selection criteria available on the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov). However if you are considering applying for an H-1B visa then you should not waste time as there is no way of knowing when the quota will be filled.
It should also be noted that anyone petitioning for an extension to an H-1B visa is not subject to this year's cap.