FY2012 H-1B Numbers Update – 36,300 Regular and 17,700 Masters Cap Visas Used (September 23, 2011)

USCIS just released the information on the numbers of cap-subject FY2012 H-1Bs filed since April 1.   As of September 23, 2011, USCIS has received approximately 36,300 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 4,100 over the previous two weeks).  Similarly, as of September 23, there were 17,700 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters cap which has 20,000 limit (an increase of about 1,000 over the previous two weeks).

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

The numbers, as just reported for the past two weeks, confirm 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, although the rate over the past month has increased slightly to 1,500-2,000 per week.  The rate for the U.S. Masters H-1B cap has remained steady – at 500-700 per week.   More than 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 2012.

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