Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advised that 47,395 new H-1B petitions have already been filed against the fiscal year (FY) 2006 cap. At this rate, the FY2006 cap for new H-1Bs will probably be reached within a matter of weeks. The standard H-1B cap is 65,000 per year. A certain number (6,800) is set aside for citizens of Chile and Singapore. Thus, out of 58,200 new H-1Bs, approximately 11,000 are left for FY 2006, which begins October 1, 2005.

There are additionally 20,000 special “cap exempt” H-1Bs for applicants with U.S. master’s degrees or higher. There remain approximately 10,000 of such visas for FY 2005 (the current fiscal year), and over 12,000 are still available for FY 2006.

As you can see, if you are contemplating filing an H-1B petition for either FY 2005 or FY 2006, you should act soon.

To view USCIS’s detailed chart showing the “Current Cap Count for Non-Immigrant Worker Visas,” click on the following link:  http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm