IT Staffing Report: April 10, 2014

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H-1B caps reached in first week

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Monday the number of H-1B visas requested exceeded the annual caps in the first week. The agency will now hold a lottery to determine who will get the visas.

H-1B visas are used to bring in foreign temporary skilled workers — especially information technology workers. However, the number of visas are capped at 65,000 plus another cap of 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees.

USCIS began accepting H-1B visa petitions on April 1. The 20,000 visas going to advanced degree holders will be selected first in the lottery. Then any H-1B petition for an advanced degree holder will be included in the lottery for the remaining 65,000 H-1Bs.

“Reaching the cap is not surprising given the significant demand many companies are having for some of the unique skill sets that talent from abroad often possesses,” said Bryan Peña, vice president, contingent workforce strategies and research, at Staffing Industry Analysts. “This is good news for the industry as a whole as it highlights the growing demand for highly skilled labor and highlights an opportunity for staffing firms to fill the void with domestic talent as needed if H-1B holders aren’t available.”

Experts had predicted the visas would go fast this year. Last year USCIS had also conducted a lottery for the visas.

However, in 2012, the H-1B visa cap wasn’t reached until June 11 as demand began to recover from the recession.