The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is an employer sponsored temporary work visa for foreign national professional workers in specialty occupations in the United States. Many employers depend on the H-1B program in order to ensure that they can hire foreign nationals with specialized skills and help their businesses thrive and grow.
The H-1B process is common for U.S. employers and requires that the employer prepare and submit a petition to the USCIS on behalf of each professional foreign national employee.
There is an annual limit on the number of H-1B nonimmigrant visas available each Fiscal Year. The limit is set by Congress and is commonly known as the “H-1B Cap.” Under the H-1B Cap, each Fiscal Year, there are only 65,000 H-1B visas issued for foreign national employees with a Bachelor’s Degree. There are an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign national employees with a U.S. Master’s Degree, for a total of 85,000 available H-1B nonimmigrant visas each Fiscal Year (FY).
We are once again approaching the H-1B Petition filing period for FY 2017, which begins on October 1, 2016. The window to submit an H-1B petition for FY 2017 opens April 1, 2016. Individuals with an approved H-1B Cap petition for FY 2017 will be authorized to begin working in H-1B status on October 1, 2016.
In recent years, USCIS has received many more petitions than the 85,000 available H-1B visas during the first five (5) business days of April (“H-1B Cap initial filing period”).
If there are more than 85,000 cases received during the H-1B Cap initial filing period, the H-1B Cap for FY 2017 will “close” and USCIS will use a random selection process (a lottery) to choose the cases that will be accepted for processing or rejected for the year. Given the number of H-1B petitions filed over the last several years, (last year USCIS received over 230,000 petitions) it is very likely that the H-1B Cap will close during the initial filing period, and all H-1B petitions for FY 2017 will be selected on a lottery basis.
Thus, in order to have the best chance to have an H-1B case processed for approval for FY 2017, employers should plan to prepare and submit their H-1B petitions on April 1, 2016.
Once the H-1B Cap closes for FY 2017, there will be no more H-1B Cap subject visas available for until October 1, 2017. Importantly, H-1B transfer petitions or H-1B extension are not subject to the annual Cap.
Employers with possible beneficiaries or candidates to consider for H-1B sponsorship, should their current situation now, and evaluate whether this may be the time to prepare and submit an H-1B petition for consideration and approval.
For more information on the H-1B visa and the H-1B annual cap, please contact Kolko & Associates, P.C.