"Several Weeks" before H1B Cap?
Posted Sep 24, 2004
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As reported in a MurthyDotCom NewsFlash, posted Tuesday, September 21, 2004, the USCIS provided an estimate that numbers in the H1B quota for this fiscal year (FY) 2005 are expected to remain available for "several weeks." It is not clear if this is realistic or what might be meant by "several weeks."
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Are There More H1B Numbers?
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The reason for the availability of these cap numbers is that some of the numbers allocated under Free Trade Agreements with Singapore and Chile were recaptured and added to the general H1B pool for this FY. As regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers know, there are only 65,000 H1B cap numbers available for FY2005 (October 1, 2004 - September 30, 2005). Thus, the available numbers had been exhausted, in large part, even before the year begins. This is possible because H1B cases can be filed six months in advance. Many cases were filed in advance in an effort to obtain one of the limited H1B cap numbers.
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How Long Can I Wait to File?
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Persons with cap-subject cases need to move quickly to beat the cap. The only thing that is predictable is that the cap will be reached soon. We are monitoring this issue very closely to keep MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers informed.