The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that by the afternoon of April 2, 2007, it had received enough H-1B work visa petitions—150,000—to meet the congressionally mandated cap for fiscal year 2008. April 2 was the first day employers could submit H-1B petitions for 2008. The H-1B visa program allows U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.
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The USCIS will use a random selection process for all cap-subject filings received on April 2, 2007 and April 3, 2007. Such petitions that are not selected will be returned. All cap-subject petitions received on or after April 4, 2007, will be rejected.
For 2008, Congress has mandated that the USCIS may grant 65,000 H-1B visas (not including those for current H-1B visa holders), and an additional 20,000 visas for applicants who hold advanced degrees from U.S. academic institutions.
For employers that missed out this year, keep in mind that the first filing date for fiscal year 2009 H-1B petitions will be April 1, 2008.
Additional Resources:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
H-1B Visa information