USCIS Announces FY2016 H-1B Cap Reached

On April 7, 2015, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2016 was reached within the five business day filing window running from April 1 to April 7, 2015. This includes both the U.S. advanced degree cap preference limit of 20,000 visas and the regular cap limit of 65,000 visas.

USCIS will hold a computer-generated lottery for the petitions received. USCIS has not determined when the lottery will be conducted due to the high volume of cases received. A lottery will be held first for the 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap preference.  The unselected U.S. advanced degree cases will then be included in the 65,000 regular cap lottery.

USCIS has indicated that premium processing cases will commence after the lottery has been conducted, and no later than May 11, 2015. It may be several weeks thereafter before it is determined which regularly processed cases have definitively been selected under the lottery.

This client alert is prepared for the general information of our clients and friends. It should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this update, or for more information about this topic, please contact any of the attorneys in our Business Immigration practice group, or the attorney with whom you normally consult.

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