On Tuesday, April 10, 2007, the USCIS issued a press release stating that it has received approximately 12,989 of the 20,000 available petitions filed on behalf of applicants holding a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. college or university; therefore, the cap for these cases remains open.
We expect the cap to be met quickly – within days – and strongly advise you to contact your Ogletree Deakins attorney as soon as possible if you have any cases that have not yet been filed and qualify for the master’s cap exemption.
The USCIS also confirmed that on April 2 and 3 it received approximately 119,193 petitions that are subject to the annual cap of 65,000. As reported earlier, the USCIS will conduct a computer-generated random selection of these petitions to determine which of these will be selected for processing.
Please note that petitions filed to extend or amend H-1B employment for foreign workers already in H-1B status and new workers to be employed by institutions of higher education or related nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations are not subject to the H-1B cap.
Please contact your Ogletree Deakins attorney with any questions.
Note: This article was published in the April 11, 2007 issue of the Immigration eAuthority.
