U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received approximately 42,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap for fiscal year 2010.  The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap. 

Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees; however, the agency continues to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all petitions received are approvable.  Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas.   

For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium processing period began April 7.  For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition.

USCIS will provide regular updates as the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions continue.

The H-1B visa program allows companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.