The Immigration and Naturalization Service has announced the number of H-1B visas issued in the first half of the 1997 fiscal year which ran from October 1, 1996 until March 31, 1997. The Immigration and Nationality Act places a cap of 65,000 on the number of H-1B visas which may be issued in a fiscal year, so the pace of visa issuance is very important in immigration planning. According to the INS, 30,761 H-1B visas were issued in the first half of the fiscal year which should leave a comfortable margin if the pace of visa issuance remains steady. The annual cap has not been reached in any of the years since the cap was imposed in 1990. Last year, the INS announced that the limit had been reached, but revised the figures down substantially after the agency was challenged on its methodology.
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