H-1B Visa Master’s Degree Exemption Cap Hit.

No More H-1B Visas (Unless Not Subject to Cap) Until Oct. 1, 2008.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough H-1B visa petitions requesting exemptions from the fiscal year 2008 (FY 2008) H-1B cap for “foreign workers who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education” to meet the congressionally mandated exemption limit of 20,000. USCIS has determined that the “final receipt date” for these exempt H-1B petitions is April 30, 2007. USCIS will reject petitions requesting a FY 2008 cap exemption for “workers with a master’s or higher degree earned from a U.S. institution of higher education” that are received on or after May 1, 2007 unless the petition is otherwise eligible for a separate cap exemption.

Unless exempt from the cap, H-1B visas will generally no longer be available now that both the regular H-1B visa and the H-1B visa master’s degree numbers have run out. H-1B visas will not be available again until next fiscal year starting on Oct. 1, 2008.

The H-1B Cap does not affect All Petitions:

Certain H-1B petitions may continue to be filed and processed by USCIS for the current fiscal year because they are not subject to the cap or because they qualify for an exemption. Individuals who already hold H-1B status do not count toward the cap. Therefore, USCIS will continue to process and accept petitions submitted on behalf of an individual already in H-1B status. Petitions not subject to the cap include:

  • Petitions seeking an extension of H-1B status;
  • Petitions seeking to change the terms of H-1B employment;
  • Petitions requesting to change H-1B employers; or
  • Petitions requesting to work with an additional H-1B employer.

Similarly, certain H-1B petitions may continue to be filed and processed by USCIS for the current fiscal year because they qualify for exemptions from the cap. The following H-1B petitions are exempt:

  • Petitions for new H-1B employment with an institution of higher education or a related or affiliated nonprofit entity, or at a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization;
  • Petitions submitted on behalf of citizens of Singapore and Chile, who are subject to another cap under free trade agreements made with those countries;
  • Certain petitions submitted on behalf of individuals who were counted toward an H-1B cap within the past six years who have not left the U.S. for more than one year since obtaining H-1B status; and
  • Petitions submitted on behalf of physicians who have obtained a waiver of the J-1 visa two-year residence requirement.