U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has stopped accepting H-1B petitions subject to the 2014 fiscal year H-1B cap or the advanced degree exemption.
On April 5, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the 2014 fiscal year H-1B cap has been reached.1 The USCIS also announced that it has received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from cap, pursuant to the advanced degree exemption. Accordingly, the USCIS will not accept any H-1B petitions subject to the 2014 fiscal year H-1B cap or the advanced degree exemption after April 5.
The USCIS will utilize a computer-automated random selection process (lottery) for all 2014 fiscal year H-1B cap-subject petitions received between April 1, 2013, and April 5, 2013. Advanced degree exemption petitions will undergo the random selection process first. Those advanced degree exemption petitions not selected will be added to the general pool for which there are 65,000 visa numbers
