The starting date for filing H-1B petitions subject to 2016 Cap is April 1st, 2015 which is a little over 2 months away. Even though one cannot accurately predict on how long the FY 2016 H-1B filing window will last, it is quite likely that we are looking at a very short window for filing H-1B FY 2016 Cap subject petitions.  

For the last 2 years, the filing window has lasted only the first 5 business days. Last year 172,000 petitions were submitted to USCIS in the first 5 days which was a significant increase from the 124,000 petitions from the year before. Judging by the trend of the last 5 years and the state of the economy, it is quite possible that we will have a very minimal filing window for FY 2016 H-1B Cap subjectpetitions this year too.

As anticipated, we have started working with employers in planning and organizing their H-1B petitions subject to the 2016 Cap.  It is very important to note thatstarting work on these petitions early will give us sufficient time to identify any problems that may exist and resolve them enabling filing of the petitions on time. Especially in case of newer companies, startingthis process early is highly recommended as that would allow the Firm and the petitioning company sufficient time to prepare a strong petition.

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