H-1B Cap Selection Process For FY 2016 Completed: USCIS

14 Apr 2015

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has got sufficient number of H-1B petitions to fill the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2016. It has also got more H-1B petitions than the limit of 20,000 filed for the advanced degree exemption, termed as the master’s cap.

Notably, USCIS has received around 233,000 H-1B petitions including those filed under the advanced degree exemption category at the time of filing period, which started on 1 April 2015.

On 13 April 2015, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process, a lottery to choose petitions to fill the FY cap under both general, and advanced degree exemption categories. USCIS will not accept and return the unselected applications along with the filing fees, except for duplicate petitions.

Reportedly, the agency has held the selection process initially for the advanced degree exemption and all the unselected petitions under the advanced degree were included in the random selection process for the 65,000 limit.    

According to the announcement made on 12 March 2015, USCIS will start premium processing for H-1B cap cases before 11 May 2015. USCIS will accept and process those applications that are not subject to the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of existing H-1B workers who have been counted earlier against the cap will not be included towards the congressionally mandated FY 2016 H-1B cap.

USCIS will keep on accepting applications and will process petitions filed to:

•    Extend the duration for which an H-1B worker can remain in the US

•    Amend the employment terms for existing H-1B workers

•    Permit existing H-1B workers to change employers; and

•    Permit existing H-1B workers to work in tandem with a second H-1B position

Under H-1B program, the US businesses will be able to recruit overseas workers in various designations that are in need of highly specialized knowledge in various streams such as engineering, science and computer programming.

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