USCIS is still accepting H-1B cap-subject visas for Fiscal Year 2011.
As of April 27, only 16,500 cap-subject H-1B petitions have been filed
with USCIS and just under 7,000 H-1B petitions have been received for
aliens with master’s degrees or higher. These rates are similar to
those seen last year; both, however, are much lower than rates seen in
previous years, when the annual cap would be reached in less than one
week.
The H-1B standard annual cap is 65,000; the H-1B master’s exemption cap
is 20,000. This year’s filing period opened on April 1, 2010. Petitions
that are subject to the FY 2011 cap must request an employment start
date of October 1, 2010 or after. Any petitions that request start
dates prior to October 1, 2010 will be rejected by USCIS.
