USCIS has issued an H-1B cap update for Fiscal Year 2012, which commences on October 1, 2011. As of June 15, there have been 15,200 H-1B regular cap petitions received and another 10,200 petitions received applicable to the master’s degree cap.
Numbers since the last USCIS update on June 6 are as follows:

  • 1,600 new cap eligible petitions were filed for the regular quota
  • 900 new cap eligible petitions were filed for the MS/Advanced degree quota

As of June 15th, H1B cap total counts were:

  • Regular H1B Cap H1B filings 15,200 of a total 65,000
  • Advanced degree cap filing count 10,200 of a total 20,000
  • Total H1B visa petitions received 25,400 of a total 85,000

Application volume is still considered low but the numbers are picking up.  The master’s degree cap is at more than 50% of total allotted petitions. These petitions indicate that nearly half of the H-1B applicants for the year were people with advanced degrees earned in the U.S.
A summary of the numbers illustrates that the volume of H1B petitions filed in both regular and advanced cap increased as expected since June 1. Regular quota filings averaged 800 per week, while advanced degree quota filings averaged 450 per week.
Petition volumes are considered normal in the range of 800 to 1000 per week for regular quota petitions and at 500 per week for the advanced degree cap count. Increases in the numbers over recent weeks are being attributed to employers filing increased numbers of petitions following the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.
Regular petition rates are expected to last through February 2012.  The advanced degree cap is expected to be exhausted by the end of September.
For additional information on the H-1B Program and Caps, please click here.