Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B Quota Reached

On January 27, 2011, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the regular H-1B quota (or “cap”) for Fiscal Year 2011, which began on October 1, 2010 and ends on September 30, 2011. USCIS announced last month that as of December 21, 2010, it had received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the Master’s H-1B cap. Both H-1B caps have now been reached.

As a result, USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B workers seeking an employment start date in Fiscal Year 2010 that are received after January 26, 2011. USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all cap-subject petitions that USCIS received on January 26, 2011. Based on the timing of last year’s lottery system, USCIS should provide lottery results before the end of February.

For additional background information on the H-1B visa program and the cap, please visit our previous One Minute Memos: “H-1B Work Permit Filings: Will You Beat the Cap?” and “Fiscal Year 2011 H-1B Cap Still Open”

If you have any questions regarding this One Minute Memo, please contact the Seyfarth Shaw attorney with whom you work, or any immigration attorney on our website.