USCIS will accept US H-1B visas from 1st April onwards

United States, 25th March: The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting applications for US H-1B visas from 1st April, 2010 onwards for the fiscal year 2011.

The annual limit for US H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2011 is 65,000, the same as earlier. Apart from 65,000 H-1B petitions, the limit of H-1B petitions for foreign workers candidates holding a US Masters Degree or any other higher qualification from the US institution is 20,000.

This annual limit on new H-1B visas does not include those who already have H-1B status as well as non-profit research organization and universities. 

Although, the rate of those seeking H-1B visas was considerably less due to global economic crisis, however, due to a significantly high demand for H-1B visas in the months of November and December 2009, the annual cap of H-1B visas was reached. 

It is not easy to predict the number of H-1B petitions to be filed in any particular year. Earlier, all H-1B visas were used within a short span of time after becoming available and it is very likely that this year too, the limit of H-1B visas will get used up by prospective applicants before November 2010. 

Moreover, if the USCIS gets greater number of US H-1B petitions in the first 7 days (business days), then a lottery system will be put into use to know the cases to be adjudicated. 

Hence, US employers or US companies desirous of getting US H-1B visas for their current or prospective foreign national employees to employ them from 1st October, 2010 onwards should start working on filing H-1B petitions now or before April 1, 2010 in order to increase the chances of getting H-1B visas. 

However, before doing so, it is essential to check revised guidance issued by the USCIS regarding the H-1B status eligibility for individuals involved in provision of consulting or contractual services.