From USCIS: On April 1, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject
to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap. U.S. businesses use the H-1B program
to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized
knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and computer
programming.
The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY
2016 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals
with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap.
USCIS
expects to receive more petitions than the H-1B cap during the first
five business days of this year’s program. The agency will monitor the
number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B cap has
been met.
If USCIS receives an excess of petitions during the first
five business days, the agency will use a lottery system to randomly
select the number of petitions required to meet the cap. USCIS will
reject all unselected petitions that are subject to the cap as well as
any petitions received after the cap has closed. USCIS used the lottery
for the FY 2015 program last April.
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions
H-1B
petitioners may still continue to request premium processing together
with their H-1B petition. However, please note that USCIS has
temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice based on
historic premium processing receipt levels and the possibility that the
H-1B cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing
season.