Managing the H-1B Cap

On February 17, 2004, the "H-1B Cap" for fiscal year 2004 was reached. This prevents employers from sponsoring foreign nationals for new H-1B visa status until the next allotment of 65,000 visas becomes available in FY 2005 (starting October 1, 2004). The H-1B visa is commonly known as the "professional visa" and is frequently used to hire foreign nationals as Software Developers, Researchers, Engineers, Financial Analysts, Teachers, and Executives.  This memorandum outlines strategies which should be immediately considered in order to maximize the ability of U.S. employer to hire a foreign national in H-1B visa status now and in the future.