United States: FY 2010 H-1B Usage Increases Again

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received approximately 61,500 cap-subject H-1B filings as of Monday, December 8, an increase of nearly 400 since the agency’s last cap count on Friday, December 4. Employers may still file H-1B cases for employment start dates in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010, but should do so as soon as possible because the quota for this year is moving ever closer to exhaustion. The rate of cap filings continues to increase rapidly, as organizations with remaining H-1B needs rush to file their cases before USCIS announces that the cap has been reached. For additional information, see our updated frequently asked questions (FAQ) document.

If your organization plans to file additional H-1B petitions for employment start dates in fiscal 2010, contact your designated Fragomen professional immediately.

Source: Fragomen

United States: FY 2010 H-1B Usage Continues to Climb Higher, as 900 New Cap Filings Are Reported

The latest report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that H-1B cap usage continues to move more rapidly towards the annual quota for the year. Employers can still file H-1B petitions for employment in fiscal 2010, but should plan on filing quickly.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that it has now received approximately 54,700 H-1B filings against the annual quota for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. Though cap numbers are still available, usage continues to increase more rapidly and is approaching the annual quota for the year. Employers can still file both standard and advanced-degree cases, but all newly filed cases will be counted against the standard H-1B cap because USCIS has already received enough cases to fill the pool of 20,000 advanced-degree cases for the current year.

According to USCIS’s latest statistics, it has received an additional 900 cap-subject filings since its last report one week ago. In total, the agency has reported an increase in cap usage of nearly 8,000 in recent weeks, after only modest upticks between April and September.

There are several reasons for the sudden acceleration in usage, including upcoming December graduations, increases in hiring generally, and the complexity of USCIS’s methods for counting cases against the standard and advanced-degree quotas. These factors make it difficult to predict the pace of future cap usage, and continued rapid increases in usage are possible. For these reasons, we continue to advise employers to file quickly to meet H-1B needs for the current year and begin planning for the FY 2011 filing season, which begins in just a few months, on April 1, 2010.

H-2B Numbers Still Available

Employers can still file cap-subject H-2B temporary nonagricultural work petitions for employment start dates through March 31, 2010, the first half of the current fiscal year. As of November 6, USCIS had received filings for 21,327 H-2B beneficiaries. Of these, 19,736 had been approved and 1,591 cases were pending.

USCIS has set a target of 47,000 cap-subject H-2B petition beneficiary receipts to meet the 33,000 cap for the first half of the fiscal year. USCIS uses a target figure to account for cases that are ultimately denied, withdrawn or revoked, as well as cases in which employers actually employ fewer H-2B workers than requested in their petitions. The target figure can change as the fiscal year progresses.

Click here for USCIS’s full statistical report.

Source: Fragomen

United States: FY 2010 H-1B Cap Usage Climbs Again

H-1B cap filings for employment in Fiscal Year 2010 continue to increase, according to further updated statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency continues to accept both standard and advanced-degree cases, but all new cap filings will be now counted against the standard H-1B quota because USCIS has already received enough filings to fulfill the pool of 20,000 advanced-degree numbers.

Employers have filed another 1,000 H-1B petitions towards the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 cap, according to statistics released today by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency is reporting that it had received 53,800 cap petitions as of October 30 – an increase of approximately 1,000 cases since the agency’s last H-1B usage report.

USCIS continues to accept both standard H-1B filings and filings on behalf of foreign nationals holding U.S. advanced degrees for employment in this fiscal year. But because USCIS has already received a sufficient number of filings to exhaust the pool of 20,000 H-1B numbers for advanced degree holders, cases filed on behalf of these foreign nationals will be counted against the standard H-1B cap.

What This Means for Employers

As we reported yesterday, FY 2010 H-1B usage has increased rapidly in the past month, after a long period of slow movement. Today’s update suggests that the surge could continue, especially as the December graduation season approaches and the economic outlook improves. We continue to urge employers to assess their additional H-1B hiring needs for the remainder of the current fiscal year and beyond, and plan to move quickly. Though it is not possible to predict future H-1B demand with certainty, planning ahead can help employers avoid being shut out by the cap in the event that competition for H-1B numbers increases.