H-1B cap for fiscal year 2012 has been reached

USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2012 was reached on November 22, 2011. Cases subject to the cap received after November 22, 2011 will be returned. Fiscal year 2012 started October 1, 2011. The "master's cap" has also been reached. This means there will be no new H-1B visas available for start dates through September 30, 2012. The cap for 2012 was reached two months earlier than the cap for 2011. This suggests H-1B usage is again increasing.

The cap applies to workers who have not previously held H-1B status. The cap does not apply to the following cases:

• Extensions of stay in H-1B status.
• Change of H-1B employers (unless the previous employer was cap exempt).
• University or affiliated employers
• Certain non-profit or U.S. government research organizations
• J waiver physicians

Beginning April 1, 2012, employers can submit petitions for fiscal year 2013, with a start date of October 1, 2012.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has called on Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas to allow the U.S. economy to continue to benefit from the talents and abilities of foreign workers.