Dear Readers:

Many of you have emailed me over the last few months asking about H-1B visa usage and how close we are to hitting the H-1B cap for the fiscal year that starts on October 1^st. Late Friday afternoon, the American Immigration Lawyers Association reported that it is been advised by the Department of Homeland Security that as of August 4, 2004, it had received 40,000 cap-subject H-1B filings that are covered by the 2005 annual cap. 21,000 cases had actually been approved and the rest were filed, but not yet approved. Some of these cases will be denied, of course. But also keep in mind that the about 6,000 numbers are reserved for nationals of Singapore or Chile (though expect most of these numbers to be added back based on unused numbers for this year).

This pace of about 10,000 cap case applications being filed a month means that come October, there will be very few visas left. Don’t expect any help from Congress before the election. There is just no political support right now for raising the numbers. After the election, Congress is more likely to focus on the genuine merits of the H-1B program. Also, despite what President Bush says, most Americans do NOT feel good about the job situation and as long as Americans feel insecure about their jobs, members of Congress are going to be reluctant to move on H-1B legislation. Unfortunately, there are plenty of fields where there are genuine worker shortages – teachers, physicians, nurses, etc. – and our H-1B program is not flexible enough to exempt many of these professionals from the cap.

In the mean time, readers would be wise to consult with their immigration counsel to devise backup strategies in case an H-1B visa is not available.

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Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind