U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept
new H-1B petitions subject to the annual quota for fiscal year 2021
(FY2021) in early 2020 with a new preregistration system being
implemented starting March 1, 2020.
Overview of the H-1B Visa Program
The H-1B visa program permits U.S. companies to employ foreign
nationals in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation is a
position that requires the theoretical or practical application of
a body of highly specialized knowledge, such as that of an
engineer, economist, or scientist. The specialty occupation must
require a bachelor's degree or higher (or its foreign
equivalent) in a specific, closely-related field.
The number of new H-1B visas is subject to an annual limit of
65,000 visa numbers per year with an additional 20,000 visas set
aside for H-1B beneficiaries who possess advanced degrees from U.S.
academic institutions. Of the 65,000 available H-1B visas, 6,800
are reserved for citizens of
