USCIS announced this week that it will start accepting H-1B petitions
for Fiscal Year 2013 on Monday, April 2, 2012. These cap-subject
applications will be considered effective on the date that USCIS
receives the properly filed petitions with the correct fees. The
postmark date will not be considered when defining the effective date.
Congress has limited the total amount of cap-subject H-1B petitions for
Fiscal Year 2012 to 65,000. An additional 20,000 H-1B petitions are also
available for individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or
higher. USCIS notes that it will monitor the number of petitions
received and will notify the public of the date on which it has received
the necessary number of petitions to meet this annual cap.
