The CIS continues to accept new H1B petitions filed under the fiscal year 2011 quota. Employment under this quota may not begin earlier than October 1, 2010 though petitions may be filed as early as 180 days prior to the proposed start date for the new job.

There are a total of 65,000 H1B spots open under the quota for "regular" employment. In addition, there are another 20,000 - outside of the quota - reserved for advanced degree graduates of US colleges and universities. The most recent usage data released by the CIS (May 6, 2010), shows the following:

FY 2011 H-1B Cap Count

Cap Type	Cap Amount	Cap Eligible Petitions	Date of Last Count
H-1B Regular Cap	65,000	18,000	5/6/2010
H-1B Master’s Exemption	20,000	7,600	5/6/2010

Petition filings are down significantly from the same time last year. While no one knows how long the quota will remain open, it is safe to assume that it will not likely close for several more months, at least. Last year, the quota was exhausted in mid-December.

Our office has seen a recent increase in interest for new petitions and we believe, based on anecdotal evidence, that we are going to see the rate of filings increase shortly.

In a related development, the Department of Labor has just created a valuable new resource for H1B employers and employees. You may view it by going to: http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/h1b/q1.aspx