The USCIS has released the latest FY2011 cap numbers. The USCIS has received approximately 13,500 H-1B petitions counting towards the 65,000 cap. It has received approximately 5,600 petitions for individuals with US master’s degree or higher. This leaves more than 50,000 slots open.
We will continue to update the blog with updated cap numbers.

The Vermont Service Center has reported to AILA that as of the close of business on Monday, April 5th, only 9,525 cap-subject H-1B petitions had been received by their office. Of those received, 6,791 were “regular” cap cases, and 2,734 cases were under the master’s cap exemption. They also clarified that for cases filed premium process, […]

On Fri, the USCIS held an open forum to discuss the impact of the January Neufeld memo which prohibited “job shopsâ€� from participating in the H-1b program, and, specifically, the impact to healthcare staffing companies. Both Sherry Neal and myself attended along with several other attys. that represent physician and therapy staffing companies.  First, I […]

Personal Message from Michael Hammond
We have just been advised that the USCIS is holding a meeting this Thursday, February 18th, in Washington DC to allow questions and receive input regarding the recent Neufeld Memo. If the staffing model and the use of H-1b workers represents a large portion of your business, I strongly urge you […]

In a recent USCIS Stakeholders Meeting, AILA asked for clarification on how unused H-1B1s for Singaporean and Chileans are counted back. Under the Chile/Singapore Free Trade Agreement, 6,800 H-1B cases are reserved per cap for specialty occupation cases from Singapore and Chile. The USCIS responded to AILA by stating that unused H-1B1 numbers from a fiscal year […]

 The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has a Business Litigation Committee (BLC) and we met this week and the hot topic of discussion was the recently released Neufeld memo. There is a strong belief that the memo was issued in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.  There is also the belief that the memo violates long-standing precedent and established […]

We have recently heard of accounts from H-1B workers entering from the Newark and Seattle airports encountering additional questioning, and in some cases expedited removal, by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. It seems most of the cases are occuring out of the Newark aiport and are primarily aimed at Indian H-1B workers employed […]

At the annual AILA immigration conference last June, the USCIS promised that a memo would be forthcoming on the issue of  what constitutes an employer-employee relationship for H-1b purposes. On January 13th, the USCIS issued a memo providing guidance on this issue. This memo is especially important to petitioners who place H-1b workers at third-party sites, such as information […]

Recently, the USCIS, particularly, the California Service Center has imposed requirements on IT staffing companies employing H-1b workers that are not found in any statute or regulations.  The requirement to produce contracts from parties with which the petitioner has no direct relationship is impossible to meet and the Service Center knows it ! That, is in fact their […]

As of Dec 8, 2009, the USCIS has accepted 61,500 H-1b petitions toward the FY 2010 cap. USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H-1B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now […]