USCIS released the weekly FY2011 information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1.   As of November 12, 2010, USCIS has received approximately 47,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,000 over the past week).  Similarly, as of November 12, there were 17,400 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters cap which has 20,000 limit (an increase of about 200 over the past week).

H-1B Quota Trends – Slight Relative Decrease in Regular and Masters’ Cap Filings

The numbers, as reported over the past week, show a slight decrease over the past week compared to the weeks prior.  We believe that this decrease is attributed to the fact that November 11 was a federal holiday. We expect that the numbers of regular and master’s cap filings to return to their anticipated 1,000-1,500 (for regular) and 300-500 (for master’s cap) weekly numbers next week.

H-1B Quota Expected to be Reached in Early 2011
With the current pace of filings, or about 1,000-1,500 regular H-1B cap filings per week and 400-500 master’s cap per week, we estimate that the H-1B cap would be reached in 10-15 weeks, or sometime in early 2011.

We wish to reiterate our caution to potential H-1B employers and employees that as the U.S. economy is seen to recover and grow, it is possible that the pace of H-1B filings will increase.

We invite you to subscribe to our free weekly immigration newsletter to receive timely updates on this and related topics.  In the meantime, if you are considering filing a cap-subject H-1B petition as part of the FY2011 quota, please contact us as soon as possible — it is never too early to file a cap-subject H-1B petition.