On April 7, 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) confirmed that the agency has received the numerical limit for H-1B petitions subject to the 2017 fiscal year H-1B cap. The agency also confirmed receipt of more than the 20,000 limit on “U.S. Master’s Cap” H-1B petitions.
USCIS will employ a randomized selection process, also known as the “H-1B lottery”, to determine which petitions out of the total number received will be processed under the numerical limits. USCIS will first conduct a lottery for the 20,000 U.S. Master’s Cap petitions. USCIS will then run a second lottery to select which H-1B cap-subject petitions will be processed out of the remaining U.S. Master’s Cap petitions and “Regular Cap” petitions.
Due to the large number of petitions received this year, USCIS states that they are unable to announce when the H-1B lottery will be completed. We will update as soon as USCIS completes the lottery process.
As mandated by statute, USCIS may grant up to a maximum of 65,000 new H-1B visas per fiscal year, with certain exceptions.
USCIS may grant up to 20,000 H-1B visas separate from the 65,000 limit for beneficiaries who have earned a Master’s degree or higher from a United States institution. In addition, some beneficiaries may be exempt from the H-1B cap if they will be working for certain non-profit higher education institutions, government or non-profit research organizations, or related entities.
Jackson & Hertogs will continue to monitor for updates on the FY 2017 H-1B Cap. For more information on the H-1B visa, please visit our guides at this link. For more information on the H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2017, please click here.
