This alert is a reminder of the rapidly approaching April 1, 2012 “deadline” for the filing of H-1B
worker petitions for Fiscal Year 2013. Petitions for the new fiscal year will be accepted by the
government beginning April 1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to
accept new H-1B petitions after April 1, 2012 until the H-1B cap is reached. We encourage you to
identify any employees now who may require H-1B sponsorship so that a petition may be filed well before the H-1B numbers for the next fiscal year are exhausted.

Congress has placed a numerical “cap,” or limit, on H-1B visas. For FY 2013, the limit is 65,000, with an additional 20,000 available for individuals who have earned a US master’s degree or higher. In past years, the cap has been reached in the first few days of April. While last year’s cap was not met until November, there are promising signs that the economy is recovering for this coming H-1B season. There is no way to predict when this year’s H-1B quota will be exhausted. Therefore, it is important to prepare H-1B petitions for filing by March 30, 2012 to improve your chances of securing visas for H-1B candidates.

Please see full article below for more information.