FY2012 H-1B Numbers Update – 43,300 Regular and 19,500 Masters Cap Visas Used (October 14, 2011)

USCIS just released the information on the numbers of cap-subject FY2012 H-1Bs filed since April 1.   As of October 14, 2011, USCIS has received approximately43,300 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 2,300 over the previous week).  Similarly, as of October 14, there were 19,500 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters cap which has 20,000 limit (an increase of about 400 over the previous week).

H-1B Quota Trends – Rate of Regular Cap H-1B Filings Increases; H-1B Masters Cap Effectively Reached;  Regular H-1B Cap Likely to Remain Open for 2-3 More Months

The numbers, as just reported for the past week, confirm that the rate of filing of new cap-subject H-1B filings is increasing slightly.  We have been noticing a slightly higher than average weekly rate of filings of over 2,000, compared to 1,000-1,500 previously, for the regular H-1B cap.   The rate for the U.S. Masters H-1B cap has remained steady – at 500-700 per week, although as of the time of this article, the Master’s Cap has probably been reached.   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, and considering that the H-1B Masters Cap to is reached, it is likely that the H-1B regular cap would remain open for another two to three months.

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