USCIS is still accepting H-1B cap-subject visas for Fiscal Year 2011. As of April 27, only 16,500 cap-subject H-1B petitions have been filed with USCIS and just under 7,000 H-1B petitions have been received for aliens with master’s degrees or higher. These rates are similar to those seen last year; both, however, are much lower than rates seen in previous years, when the annual cap would be reached in less than one week.

The H-1B standard annual cap is 65,000; the H-1B master’s exemption cap is 20,000. This year’s filing period opened on April 1, 2010. Petitions that are subject to the FY 2011 cap must request an employment start date of October 1, 2010 or after. Any petitions that request start dates prior to October 1, 2010 will be rejected by USCIS.