FY2012 H-1B Numbers Update – 29,000 Regular and 15,800 Masters Cap Visas Used (August 26, 2011)

USCIS just released the information on the numbers of cap-subject FY2012 H-1Bs filed since April 1.   As of August 26, 2011, USCIS has received approximately 22,700 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 6,300 over the previous four weeks).  Similarly, as of August 26 , there were 15,800 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters cap which has 20,000 limit (an increase of about 2,000 over the previous four weeks).

H-1B Quota Trends – Slow Rate of Filings; H-1B Caps Are Likely to Remain Open for Several Months

The numbers, as just reported for the past four weeks, show that the rate of filing of new cap-subject H1B filings is fairly slow, and remaining steady.  We have been noticing a weekly rate of filing of 1,000 to 1,500 in the regular H-1B cap and 500-700 in the US Masters H-1B cap.   Almost six months into this H-1B cap filing season, we can draw some (fairly) reliable conclusions on how long the cap would remain open: given the rate of filings for the past several weeks and since the H-1B cap opened, it is likely that the H-1B cap would remain open well into the rest of the year, and perhaps even well into 2012.

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  In the meantime, if you are considering filing a cap-subject H-1B petition as part of the FY2012 quota, please contact us.