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USCIS announced on April 7, 2014 that is had reached the statutory cap of 65,000 for H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2015. The H-1B visa program allows for businesses to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized training and/or education in such fields as science, engineering, and computer programing.
USCIS received a record number of about 172,000 H-1B petitions during the week-long filing period which began on April 1. This number included petitions filed under the Master’s Cap exemption for individuals with advanced degrees, which is subject to a 20,000 cap.
As a result of almost 50,000 more applications received for FY 2015, USCIS completed a computer-generated random lottery for the third time ever in its history. After meeting the 65,000 general-category cap and 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption, all petitions not selected will be returned.
According to an earlier announcement from USCIS on March 25, premium processing for H-1B cap cases will begin no later than April 28, 2014.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions for Cap-Exempt petitions such as extensions, changes in terms of employment for current H-1B workers, change of employers, and working concurrently in a second H-1B position. This processing time is currently being reported by the USCIS website as being 2 to 2 ½ months.
Please visit the following links for the USCIS press releases/alerts:
http://www.uscis.gov/news/uscis-reaches-fy-2015-h-1b-cap
http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-begin-premium-processing-h-1b-cap-subject-petitions-april-28-2014
GoffWilson is ready to answer all of your questions and concerns regarding the H-1B petition or other types of employment based applications. Just give us a call– we are ready to help!