August 1, 2005 The USCIS announced today that approximately 9000 regular H-1B visas remain available under the H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2006, running October 1, 2005 to October 1, 2006. Despite this near exhaustion of regular H-1B visas for the next fiscal year, a substantial number of visas are still available for U.S. advanced degree holders and nationals of Singapore and Chile, who are subject to separate caps. The full USCIS report is available at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm.

Please note: This announcement pertains only to new H-1B petitions, and does not apply to individuals who have already obtained H-1B status.

BAL Comment: When the USCIS has received 58,200 H-1B applications, it will stop accepting additional applications for FY2006. With the current trend, this could easily happen before the end of August. Clients are encouraged to accelerate the H-1B application process to file cases as soon as possible.