USCIS will officially begin accepting petitions for the H-1B Visa 2020 on April 1st, 2018 for the next fiscal year which spans from October 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2020. In other words, all petitions filed after April 1st will apply for the H-1B visa 2020 lottery.

What is the H-1B Visa Cap?

The H-1B Visa cap, enforced by USCIS, has a congressionally mandated limit of 65,000 for the regular pool and an additional 20,000 for the advanced degree. Be aware that not all H-1B nonimmigrant visas are subject to the annual cap. For H1B Sponsorship Process Visit UT Evaluators.

Premium Processing

There are two main changes to the premium processing service from previous years. Firstly, the premium processing suspension that was enacted for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years has ended, meaning that H-1B petitions can now be filed with the I-907 to be expedited to 15 calendar days.

Second, the premium processing fee has increased from years past. As of October, 2018, instead of the previous $1,225, the fee has increased to $1,410. It is important to be aware of this change, as filing the wrong fee will result in a rejection of your I-907 request for premium processing.

Masters Versus Regular Cap

You might be wondering what the difference is between the master’s advanced degree cap and the regular cap. In order to qualify for the master’s cap, the applicant must have a United States master’s degree (or higher). Note that only having an Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s will not make you eligible. Likewise, if you’ve obtained a Master’s degree from a foreign institute, this will not qualify you for the cap.

Note that only having an associate’s degree or bachelor’s will not make you eligible. Likewise, if you’ve obtained a master’s degree from a foreign or unaccredited institute, this will not qualify you for the cap. You should stay up-to-date with the latest news about your institution to ensure that it is still accredited. For more details on H1B Visa visit  Planetm

The advantage of being entered into the master’s cap is that you will essentially have two separate opportunities to be selected for a visa. In the past, the USCIS used to select the winners of the master’s cap first. Any petitions not selected in the master’s cap would then be re-entered into the regular cap for a second chance. This system for conducting H-1B lottery was last used in April 2018 .

However, the master’s cap program is about to undergo a significant change that we will cover next in this post.