USCIS has announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 for the fiscal year (FY) 2014. USCIS has also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption.
After today, USCIS will not accept H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2014 cap or the advanced degree exemption.
USCIS has announced that it will use a computer-generated random “lottery”, for all FY 2014 cap-subject petitions received through April 5, 2013. It will be the first time since April 2008 that USCIS has had to use the lottery.
USCIS will conduct the selection process for advanced degree exemption petitions first. Subsequently, the selection process for the regular 65,000 cap will be conducted, and all advanced degree petitions not selected in the first selection process will be part of the second selection process. USCIS has not yet announced the exact day of the random selection process.
USCIS has further announced that it will provide more detailed information about the H-1B cap next week. Meanwhile, it will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap.
To learn more on how you must evaluate and utilize alternatives to the H-1B category visit What Would You Do If the H-1B Cap is Reached?
Brent Wingfield, DisplayCraft, Inc
