Petitions for H-1B Visa Reaches Cap for 2021

Key Highlights

•   Overview
•   About H-1B Visa
•   Cap for H-1B Visa
•   H-1B Visa Lottery System
•   Petitions Exempt from Cap
  
  

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said that it received enough petitions for the H-1B visa to meet the mandatory cap set by Congress for the fiscal year 2021.

About the H-1B Visa

The H1B Visa enables American companies to employ professionals, from across the globe, with expertise in theoretical or technical fields. 

Some of the US's top technology companies depend on this visa and hire tens of thousands of professionals from other countries, especially India and China.

Cap for H-1B Visa

USCIS has received sufficient petitions for the regular cap of 65,000 and the master’s cap of 20,000 for 2021. The successful applicants will be decided using a computerized draw.

The additional 20,000 master’s cap, also known as H-1b advanced degree exemption, available apart from the allotted 65,000 cap, are for applicants that have completed a master’s or higher degree from an American university or college.

H-1B Visa Lottery System

The Joe Biden administration previously announced this month that it is delaying the Trump-era H-1B visa policy by continuing to use the lottery system for allocating visas till the 31st of December 2021.

This move aims to give USCIS some more time to complete the development, testing, and implementation of the Trump administration's new developments.

Petitions Exempt from Cap

A media release from USCIS said that it would continue accepting and processing petitions exempt from the mandated cap.

Petitions filed for the current H-1B workers who have been counted against the cap previously and still retain the cap number are exempt from the cap in 2021.