Cap Gap Expiration Approaching: Some Employees' Work Authorization May End On October 1, 2015

Fiscal year 2016 cap-subject H-1B petitions selected and approved by USCIS will be valid starting October 1, 2015. However, as October 1, 2015 approaches, many cap-subject H-1B petitions remain pending at both the California and Vermont Service Centers. While this delay in adjudication impacts all cap-subject petitions, it especially impacts recent F-1 graduates who are currently work authorized pursuant to the cap-gap regulations. 

USCIS regulations allow certain F-1 students with pending or approved H-1B change of status petitions to remain in F-1 status during the period of time when their F-1 student status and work authorization would otherwise expire, up to October 1, 2015. This period of time is commonly referred to as "cap gap," meaning the regulations provide a way of filling the work authorization "gap" between F-1 and H-1B status that might otherwise occur if their F-1 status was not extended.