H-1B Cap Season FY 2017 Is Here: Be Prepared

Demand for H-1B numbers is likely to remain high during Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017).  It remains to be seen whether proposed and actual changes to the Immigration Regulations, such as extended STEM OPT EADs, H-4 EADs, etc., will reduce the demand or alleviate the lottery for H-1B numbers.

If you are a cap-subject employer, it's time to think about your hiring needs if you are considering petitioning for H-1B status for a new foreign hire.

You may recall that during the past two fiscal years, FY2016 and FY2015, employers filed more than twice the number of cap-subject H-1B petitions than are available (see prior posts on this topic here and here). That left many employers in a difficult situation with regard to their staffing needs.  Approximately half of the H-1B petitioning employers didn't receive H-1B approvals for their employees (e.g., F-1 OPT workers) or prospective employees.