As of October 28, 2011, approximately 49,200 H-1B cap subject petitions had been received by the USCIS. This is 3000 more than the last count update on October 21, 2011. The U.S. advanced degree exception cap of 20,000 was reached on October 21, 2011.

If cases continue to be filed at this rate of 3000 per week, the cap will likely be reached in about 5 weeks.  NOTE: this is a rough estimate only. If the rate of filing increases, then the FY2012 cap might be reached even sooner. At this time, USCIS will continue to accept H-1B cap subject cases, and all cap subject H-1B petitions will counted against the regular H-1B cap, regardless of the beneficiary’s degree.  See USCIS’ H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Cap Season for more information.  Once the 2012 FY H-1B cap is reached, cap-subject employers will not be able to file H-1B petitions for foreign nationals not previously counted against the H-1B cap until April 1, 2012, for the first date in the 2013 FY, of October 1, 2012.

While H-1B cap numbers remain for this fiscal year, we encourage employer clients who wish to sponsor candidates for H-1B status to move quickly to initiate these petitions.  The H-1B usage rate tends to accelerate as the cap approaches, and there may be little or no advanced notice when the cap may be reached.  Jackson & Hertogs continues to monitor the FY2012 H-1B cap count, and advise clients as information becomes available.

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