Employers are reminded to identify new candidates who will require H-1B sponsorship as soon as possible, to ensure that these applications are accepted for processing. April 2, 2012 is the first date that an employer is able to file an H-1B petition on behalf of a foreign national who has not possessed H-1B status before. Employees with approved H-1B petitions will be able to begin work in that status on October 1, 2012.
The H-1B is a frequently used temporary work visa for professional positions. Generally, there are only 65,000 H-1Bs available per year. Although the annual limit in 2011 was not reached until November 2011, the annual limit has been reached in prior years on April 1st. If USCIS receives more than enough petitions in the first five days of processing, there will be computer generated random selection process to choose which H-1B petitions will be accepted for processing.
There are an additional 20,000 H-1Bs available for candidates with a Master’s Degree or higher from a US university. Foreign nationals who work for a non-profit research organization, an institution of higher education, or work furthering the purposes of either of these, or have used a cap subject H-1B, are exempt from the H-1B quota. For more information on H-1Bs, see the Clark Hill website.