The Department of State has issued an urgent notice to USCIS that all employment based immigrant visas for FY 2011 have been used.
This means that no more employment based green cards can be issued for the rest of September.
Fiscal Year 2012 begins on October 1st, and visas will therefore become available again on October 1st.
The H-1B visa filing period for the 2012 Federal fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2011, has ended. USCIS announced the caps were reached as of November 22, 2011.
At this time the only H-1b petitions that can be filed are those for Singapore and Chile, those seeking to extend previously approved H-1B, seeking to change the terms of previously approved H-1Bs, those seeking change in employers, those seeking concurrent employment, and those that are not subject to the caps.
H-1B visas for the 2013 fiscal year will become available on October 1, 2012. Petitions for these visas can be filed starting April 1, 2012.
Employers wishing to file H-1B visas petitions for the 2013 Federal fiscal year should file their petitions during the first week of April 2012 in order to maximize the chances that a visa will be available for their employees.
Our Los Angeles immigration lawyers are available to handle your case.
Call (213) 622-2255 to start your H-1B case now!