H-1B visa numbers are going, going, soon to be gone!

The H-1B visa is an employment-based visa available for employers who want to hire foreign workers for "professional" positions. In other words, the job has to be at a complex enough level that it would normally require the attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher. The foreign work has to have earned at least a bachelor's degree in that particular area in order to qualify for H-1B status. The employer has to comply with certain Department of Labor regulations and also submit an extensive application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in order to obtain approval to hire an H-1B worker. These visas are most prominently used in the high-tech field, but are also found throughout other industries. Think accountants, teachers, architects, doctors, scientists, in general the people you hope paid attention in class if they're working on something important to you!

As we say in Texas, here's the kicker: There are only 65,000 of these visas available each year. The USCIS begins accepting applications on April 1st every year, and in a normal economic climate they will receive double or nearly triple the number of applications and will put all received applications through a random selection process to review and approve just 65,000. This year, because of the economic downturn, there are still visa numbers available in mid-December. But not many.

USCIS released their latest H-1B count on December 11th and there are roughly 2,100 visas still available. This has been an unprecedented year of opportunity for employers and H-1B candidates alike, since nearly everyone with the will to hire and the good fortune to find a job has been able to secure a visa. If you're an employer with a candidate in mind, or a foreign national with a job opportunity and you haven't begun the application process yet, be warned that time is running out! The next chance to apply won't be until April 2010, and petitions approved during that application timeframe won't allow the employee to begin working until October 2010.

Best of luck, but if you don't make it we'll see you again in April 2010!