H-1 B visas to US: the counter is closed for this yr

The decision came nearly seven months ahead of the expiry of the 2004 FY on September 30. Applications can be resubmitted for FY 2005 H1-B employment from April 1 this year and visas will be issued after October 1, when the next fiscal year commences, a USCIS release said. Petitions for current H1-B workers, however, do not count towards the congressionally mandated H1-B cap, it said.

Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions to extend the amount of time a current H1-B worker may remain in the US, change the terms of their employment, allow current workers to change employers and to work concurrently in a second H1-B position. US Congress had temporarily raised the number of H1-B visas available from 65,000 to 195,000 in 2000 till September 2003 in response to the hi-tech boom.