H-1B cap reached for this fiscal year. Now what?

The USCIS recently announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to meet the annual cap of 65,000 H-1Bs. This leaves many employers and prospective employees without the chance to apply for an H-1B visa until April 2012, for a position that won't start until October 1, 2012.

In the meantime there are still several employment-based visa options that shouldn't be overlooked. If the company has foreign ownership or foreign branch offices, an E-2 or L-1 visa might be an option. If the employee is from Canada or Mexico and their job meets certain criteria, the TN is a good choice. And if the employee has outstanding qualifications in the sciences, business, the arts, as an athlete or a performer, then an O-1 or P-1 is worth looking into.

If H-1B turns out to be the only visa category that will work, then it's also worthwhile to plan ahead and make sure that the cap doesn't pass you by yet again next year.