The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has completed the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B Cap selection process and has reached the number for the U.S. advanced degree exemption, also known as the master’s cap.
On April 10, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated 65,000 H-1B regular cap and 20,000 master’s cap for FY 2020. USCIS received 201,011 total H-1B cap petitions during the filing period beginning on April 1. On April 5, USCIS announced that it had received enough petitions to meet the H-1B regular cap number of 65,000 for FY 2020.
As mentioned previously, USCIS followed new H-1B cap regulations for FY 2020. USCIS first conducted the selection process for H-1B cap-subject petitions submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may have been eligible for the master’s cap. After this, USCIS then selected a number projected to reach the master’s cap from the remaining eligible petitions. Because the H-1B regular and master’s cap numbers have been met for FY 2020, USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees (unless the petition is a prohibited multiple filing).
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the H-1B cap. Examples of cap-exempt H-1B petitions include an extension of status for a current H-1B employee, an amendment to the terms of employment for current H-1B employers, and a change of employer for current H-1B employees.
Please do not hesitate to let our office know if you have any questions regarding this matter.