PR Newswire (05/28/12)
As of May 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had received 42,000 petitions for H-1B visas subject to the 65,000 visa cap for fiscal year 2013. The agency had received 16,000 petitions toward the separate 20,000 cap for H-1B guestworkers with advanced degrees. USCIS saw an uptick this year in the number of H-1B petitions filed, with 17,400 petitions filed toward the cap as of April 9. As of April 22 last year, USCIS had received only 8,000 petitions toward the 65,000 visa cap. Several years ago it was common for the H-1B cap to be met on the first day petitions were accepted.