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USCIS Continues to Accept FY 2010 H-1B Petitions
WASHINGTON
– April 8, 2009, USCIS announced it continues to accept H-1B
nonimmigrant visa petitions subject to the fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010)
cap. USCIS will continue to monitor the number of H-1B petitions
received for both the 65,000 regular cap and the 20,000 U.S. master’s
degree or higher educational exemption cap.
Should USCIS receive
the necessary number of petitions to meet the respective caps, it will
issue an update to advise the public that, as of a certain date (the
“final receipt dateâ€), the respective FY 2010 H-1B caps have been met.
The final receipt date will be based on the date USCIS physically
receives the petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked.
The date or dates USCIS informs the public that the respective caps
have been reached may differ from the actual final receipt date.
To
ensure a fair system, USCIS may randomly select the number of petitions
required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received as of
the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap subject petitions that
are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt
date.
Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers, who
have been counted previously against the cap, will not count toward the
congressionally mandated FY 2010 H-1B cap.
Therefore, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:
- Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States.
- Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers.
- Allow current H-1B workers to change employers.
- Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in
specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise
in fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.