Update on H-1B cap petitions filed April 1, 2008

The following information has been provided by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) concerning the cap-subject H-1B petitions filed on April 1, 2008 for FY 2009:

1. Except for cases that were being reviewed as potential duplicate filings, all receipts have been issued for those cases selected in the random lottery. The California and Vermont Service Centers completed data entry on all selected cases on May 23, 2008, and the mailing of all receipts was completed on May 24, 2008.

2. Cases that were thought to be duplicate filings are being hand reviewed to determine if they are true duplicates. USCIS has received approximately 500 petitions that are believed to be duplicates. However, some of these were submitted as "protective filings" due to courier delivery confirmation problems or where the petition was sent to an incorrect Service Center. Each will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If the second submission was accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the second submission, there is a good chance of acceptance.

3. USCIS has determined that the number of petitions selected during the random selection process will be sufficient to meet the cap limit. Therefore, the use of the reserve/cushion will not be necessary this year. USCIS has begun to mail out rejections this week.