H-1B Cap Filings as of 04-13-2012
On April 17, 2012, USCIS announced that as of April 13, 2012, it had received 20,600 H-1B visa petitions under the regular H-1B cap visa category (65,000 per year limit). This is an increase of 3,200 in one week since the first count was announced on April 9, 2012 when 17,400 petitions had been received during the first week of filing. 9,700 petitions have been filed towards the U.S. Master’s degree category (20,000 per year limit). This is an increase of 1,500 in one week since the first count was announced on April 9, 2012 when 8,200 petitions had bee received during the first week of filing. If the number of petitions filed continue at this rate, the Master’s cap could be reached within 2 months (perhaps 7 weeks); whereas the Regular cap could be reached within 4 months or earlier once the Master’s cap is reached.