Immigration Law

H-1B Master’s Visas Still Available

USCIS has just announced that there are still visas available for those interested in obtaining an H-1B visa as long as they have at least a Master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university.

USCIS announced last week that it had received enough H-1B petitions to meet the regular H-1B cap for fiscal year 2008. Each year, however, an additional 20,000 visas are made available to those persons having at least a Master’s degree. It is this cap which has not yet been reached.

Our office has been receiving many questions regarding when the Master’s quota for H-1B visas will be reached. There really is no possible way to answer this question. USCIS stated in its announcement that it had received 12, 989 cases on behalf of aliens holding a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university. It is extremely difficult to provide an estimate of when the remaining spots will be taken.

If you are interested in obtaining an H-1B visa, and you have at least a Master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university, you must begin the visa petition process immediately. The remaining visas may be taken by other foreign nationals any day. We strongly recommend that people who wish to obtain an H-1B visa file the petition at the earliest opportunity to avoid a significant delay in employment authorization.

Please do not hesitate to contact us as soon as possible to begin your H-1B case today!

From Immigration-Law-Answers-Blog posted 2007-04-11.