The US has received 65,000 H-1B visa registrations and will not accept any more of the same for the financial year 2024 (beginning October 1), as the cap has been reached. All successful applicants have been notified regarding their registration, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said in a statement.
The federal agency for immigration services stated that it had received enough applications through electronic registrations in the initial period itself, to reach the H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap) for the fiscal year 2024. This includes the advanced degree exemption, i.e. the master’s cap, too.
Currently, the annual regular cap for the H-1B US work visa has been set at 65,000, of which 6,800 are set aside under the terms of the legislation implementing the US-Chile and US-Singapore free trade agreements, reports add. Unused visas in this group will become available for H-1B use for next financial year’s regular H-1B cap.
According to reports, H-1B cap-subject petitions for the financial year 2024, including those that are eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with the USCIS from April 1, as long as they are based on a valid, selected registration. Only these applicants can file the H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2024, and that too, only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice, the USCIS said.
What is the H-1B US visa?
As per the USCIS website, H-1B is a non-immigrant US work visa that is meant for skilled foreign workers “who wish to perform a speciality occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (DOD) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability.” Registrations for the same began on March 1 for the fiscal year 2024.
The visa allows speciality occupation workers, fashion models and the like to stay in the country for up to three years. This period can be extended to six years but does not generally go beyond that, though some exceptions apply, according to the USCIS website.
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Anushka Goel
Digital Features Writer
Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.
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