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As of 24 December 2010, all 20,000 Master's exemption H-1B visas were used up. As of 31 December 2010 almost 7,000 regular H1B visas remain. Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are available for United States companies wishing to hire skilled overseas workers. An additional 20,000 H-1B visas are available for applicants who hold an equivalent of a Master's degree or higher.
On 31 December 2010, only 57,300 out of the regular annual quota of 65,000 visas had been used. When the US economy is doing well the 65,000 visas limit is sometimes reached in one day; This is an indication of the state of the American economy. The US economy has still not fully recovered from the global financial crisis of 2008.
You can therefore continue to apply for the regular H-1B visas for the time being. There is still a chance to apply for an H-1B visa in January of 2011, unlike last year.
This could be good news for US companies wishing to hire overseas engineers, and computer programmers. With unemployment in the US expected to start falling as the economy recovers, hiring skilled workers from overseas will once again become increasingly popular for US firms.
For more information on this popular US work visa, see our H-1B section. You can also give us a call.
