FY 2008 H-1B Cap Update: 20,000 Slots Reserved for Holders of U.S. Advanced Degrees Exhausted

On May 4, 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received enough H-1B petitions requesting exemptions from the fiscal year 2008 (FY 2008) H-1B cap for “foreign workers who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education” to meet the congressionally mandated exemption limit of 20,000. The “final receipt date” for these exempt H-1B petitions is April 30, 2007. USCIS will reject petitions requesting a FY 2008 cap exemption for “workers with a master’s or higher degree earned from a U.S. institution of higher education” that are received on or after May 1, 2007 unless the petition is otherwise eligible for a separate cap exemption