As of last Friday, April 20th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it had counted 25,000 H-1B petitions toward the 65,000 cap, and 10,900 H-1B petitions toward the 20,000 advanced degree cap.  See http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4b7cdd1d5fd37210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=73566811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD.  This was also reported by AILA at http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?bc=26284|39204.

This is a significant increase in comparison to last year at about the same time.  So far, this year’s count toward the 65,000 cap is more than triple last year’s, while master cap filings are at nearly twice last year’s count.  Specifically, last year’s count from April 22, 2011, was at approximately 8,000 H-1B petitions toward the 65,000 cap and 5,900 toward the advanced degree cap.

Speculation is that the dramatic increase results at least in part from some employers deciding to err on the side of caution by filing cap-subject petitions (rather than cap-exempt petitions) in situations where it’s unclear whether they qualify for a cap exemption.  Of course, an employer/petitioner should seek the counsel of their immigration attorney in making the cap-exemption determination so that petitions which are clearly cap-exempt are not counted against the annual limit. 

With the H-1B numbers are being used much more quickly than last year, it’s best to file cap-subject H-1B petitions at the earliest possible time in order to maximize the likelihood of approval under this year’s cap.