Every year H1B Visa season begins in the month of April. USCIS is accepting applications starting today April 1, 2009 for FY2010 (Fiscal Year 2010) which starts on October 1, 2009. H1B applications submitted last year haven’t been cleared yet. Most of them received RFE, but looks like it will be another busy year for USCIS to process all the applications.
The maximum allotted visas authorized by Congress are 65,000 new H1B visas per fiscal year with some exceptions. The first 20,000 H1B visas issued to alien workers who obtained their master’s degree here in the U.S. are exempt from the 65,000 cap; H1B visas issued to such individuals subsequent to the first 20,000 are then counted against the overall 65,000 cap. Some U.S. Senators have proposed increasing the cap, but such legislation is yet to be passed by Congress. Foreign nationals in the U.S. in lawful H1B status who are seeking to extend their visa or change employers are not affected by the annual limit.
2010 H1b filing DOs and DON’Ts
