US yet to receive enough petitions for H-1B visas

For the first time in several years, the US is yet to receive enough petitions for H-1B work visas, much sought after by highly-skilled professionals including Indians, even a week after it opened the counter for applicants.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it will continue to accept H-1B non immigrant visa petitions till it receives enough applications to reach the Congress-mandated cap of 65,000 in regular category and another 20,000 for those holding masters' degree or higher educational from a US university.

Immigration experts believe this is an immediate fallout of the current economic crisis, resulting in thousands of job losses in the last one year, and the prevailing anti-H-1B atmosphere in the US right now.

USCIS officials, however, did not comment as to how many H-1B visa petitions for highly skilled professionals it received during the first five working days after it started receiving the petitions from April 1 for the fiscal beginning October 1, 2009.

"Should USCIS receive the necessary number of petitions to meet the respective caps, it will issue an update to advise the public that, as of a certain date (the 'final receipt date'), the respective FY2010 H-1B caps have been met," USCIS said in a statement.