H-1B Cap Count

H-1B visa availability is plentiful with only 5,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions receipted so far this fiscal year starting April 1. This is a little less than the 6,700 received last year at the same time. Additionally, USCIS has receipted 4,500 H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees. Last year at this time 2,500 were received. This means that at this time, master degree H-1Bs are being used much more than bachelor degreed H-1s. This could reflect a change in the U.S. economy with business investing in the most talented of H-1s. Each year 65,000 H-1Bs are issued annually to bachelor degreed aliens or those with equivalents to bachelor degrees. An additional 20,000 are allocated annually to master degreed aliens.