H1B Cap Update from INS
Posted Mar 23, 2001

In a statement issued March 20, 2001, INS indicated that, as of March 7, 2001, about 72,000 H1Bs had been approved toward the 195,000 cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001. FY2001 runs from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001.

Under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), enacted on October 17, 2000, the annual allocation of H1B visas is 195,000 for FY 2001, 2002, and 2003, and then the number reverts back to 65,000 from FY 2004. AC21 also exempts certain workers, such as those employed by institutions of higher education, from the cap, so actually the number is increased beyond 195,000. For more details, kindly refer to our earlier article, entitled How the October 2000 Law Increases the H1B Quota Beyond 195,000 in the October 27, 2000 MurthyBulletin.