June 13, 2012 –
Cap reached on H-1B visa petitions for FY 2013

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced on June 12, 2012, that as of June 11, 2012, they had received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the statutory cap for FY 2013 (i.e., for employment starting on or after October 1, 2012).

Per the announcement, USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for H-1B specialty occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY 2013 that are received after June 11, 2012.

Additionally, USCIS stated that as of June 7, 2012, it had also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS will continue to accept petitions otherwise exempted from the cap and DOD cooperative research worker H-1B petitions and Chile/Singapore H-1B1 petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2013.

Exemptions from the annual quota cap may apply in instances of:

• Requests for extensions of stay for current H-1B workers;
• Amendments to H-1B petitions requesting a change in the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Change of employer petitions for individuals already in H-1B status; and
• H-1B petitions requesting that current H-1B workers be allowed to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

In addition, petitions for new H-1B employment are not subject to the annual cap if the foreign professional will be employed at an institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, or at a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization.

The H-1B visa classification is for temporary employment of foreign professionals in specialty occupations, including but not limited to, information technology professionals, business analysts, financial managers, engineers, architects, and allied health professionals such as physical therapists, as well as fashion models.

For more information, please refer to the following link: USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2013 H-1B Cap