It's H-1B Season...

The law permits employers to submit 85,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions for foreign-born professional employees each fiscal year. This year, the USCIS will start accepting H-1B petitions subject to the numerical cap starting on Monday, April 2 for workers who will be authorized to start their jobs at the beginning for the government’s 2013 fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2012. Of these 85,000 H-1Bs, 20,000 are reserved for persons in possession of an advanced degree from a university in the U.S. Last year the 20,000 cap was reached on October 28 while the 65,000 cap was reached less than one month later on November 22.

Are You Exempt from the H-1B Cap?
The demand for qualified H-1B professionals remains high, and it is all but certain that H-1B numbers will be exhausted long before the end of the year. Only cap-exempt employers are permitted to hire H-1B professionals all year long.

In addition to the cap exemption afforded to certain employers, some H-1B professionals are exempt from the cap. These are:

- Previous and current H-1B holders who have been counted towards the cap
during the past six years, and;

- J-1 nonimmigrant physicians who have received 2-year home residency requirement waivers.