As of September 19, 2009, approximately 46,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been approved. This is the first time the approved H-1B number has hit 46,000.  USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits.   

It is current USCIS policy to conduct random site visits of U.S. employers who hire H-1B workers. To ensure that employers avoid liability, they should make sure to do the following:

• Check their Labor Condition Applications (LCA) to ensure that they are up-to-date, and that an LCA is certified for every employee work location. 
• Make sure they have I-9 forms completed for each employee. An I-9 form must be completed for every U.S. and foreign worker within 3 days of hire.  For more information on the I-9 and how to complete one, please click here.
• Make sure that their Public Access File is up-to-date and complete for each H-1B employee.

We will provide additional updates at www.bashyamspiro.com as they become available.