H-1Bs Will Be Available – But Only For A Short Time

As of April 1^st (actually April 2^nd), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be accepting petitions from employers for new H-1B hires for next year (for the fiscal year October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008). Rumors are rampant, saying that the H-1B window will close on the same day it opens! Whether that will be true or not, we do not know.

Here is what we do know:

1. There is a pent-up need for certain H-1B professionals.
2. Employers have now been waiting for over ten months to be able to file petitions for badly needed employees.
3. The USCIS is going to be overwhelmed the first few days of April in receiving and sorting through H-1B petitions.
4. Based on anecdotal evidence, it appears that all of the available numbers will be used up within the first half of April and, quite probably, the first few days in April.

What this means is if you are interested in filing for an H-1B visa, (even though it will be not be effective until October 1^st this year), you need to prepare for filing immediately. For some, it may already be too late, since the necessary paperwork and documentation will not be able to be assembled in time. For others, there may still be a slight open window.

This mad scramble is unnecessary, however, until Congress changes the law, it will continue on in future years. If the relatively low H-1B cap is detrimentally affecting you, you may want to contact your Congressman or Senator, and explain how this is negatively impacting U.S. businesses and the economy.

I trust this information is helpful to you.