Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to Introduce Bill Increasing H-1B Cap Numbers

Bloomberg Politics is reporting that legislation that would provide needed H-1B cap relief to a system perennially oversubscribed will be soon be introduced by Utah GOP Senator Orrin Hatch.

According to draft legislation, the law would be changed to allow "as many as 195,000 H-1B visas based on demand,"  a major increase from the current 85,000 allotted through the 'Regular' and 'Master's' caps. H-1B planning is currently a major challenge for U.S. employers because hiring demand far exceeds annual visa supply, resulting in a 'cap lottery' determining which petitions are to be selected for adjudication. Since Fiscal Year 2014, U.S. employers have utilized all available visa numbers within the first week of filing. Last April, 199,000 petitions were filed. Employers accordingly have had significantly less than a 50% chance of having their filings selected by USCIS in recent years.