H1B Cap Reached : What Now?
Posted Apr 06, 2007
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As posted on MurthyDotCom and to MurthyBulletin subscribers in a NewsFlash on Tuesday, April 3, 2007, it was determined by the USCIS that the cap for fiscal year (FY) 2008 was reached on the first day filings would be accepted. This year, because April 1st fell on a Sunday, the first day of filing was April 2nd. As explained in our NewsFlash, regulations require that a lottery system be used to select the filings that will be applied against the FY2008 cap. This lottery system was explained in our March 23, 2007 MurthyBulletin article, H1B Cap and Lottery Issues.
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And so, our worst fears are realized; with the limited slots for H1B cap-subject workers gone, only the fortunate recipients are yet to be determined. The status of the 20,000 numbers available for advanced-degree cap applicants remains unknown, awaiting further USCIS notice. This will be revealed as each filing is reviewed by an examiner.
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This presents a dire situation for many foreign nationals. It puts many U.S. employers, who were counting on the availability of a fully qualified, talented workforce for FY2008, in the position of going another year and a half without the workers they need. This will impact the United States' place in the global economy. Robert Hoffman, a vice president of Oracle and co-chair of Compete America said, "Our broken visa policies for highly educated foreign professionals are not only counterproductive, they are anticompetitive and detrimental to America's long-term economic competitiveness." [Associated Press, Apr 4, 2007].
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It is time for Congress to act. The need for immigration reform is clear. We at the Murthy Law Firm will continue lobbying for changes that are needed. We encourage our readers to contact congress, as well. This is the right and responsibility of each one of us. A model letter is available on AILA's InfoNet, the website for the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Write letters also to the editor of your local newspaper, and the producers of the radio and television news programs to which you listen. As reported in our article entitled, Immigrants Naturalize at Higher Rate than Ever Before! (available on MurthyDotCom), naturalized citizens comprise a significant segment of the population in America today. When they are joined by employers, like Oracle, Intel, and Microsoft, and other pro-immigration voices, Congress will not be able to continue tabling this critical issue.
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