The Wall Street Journal reports that thousands of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2010 remain available. Unlike previous years, when the 65,000 visas available for the year were scooped up by employers within days, factors such as the sagging economy and government investigations into visa fraud have resulted in companies underutilizing the program. Not since 2003—when 323 days elapsed before all fiscal year 2004 H-1B visas were awarded—have visas remained available at such a late stage.

However, in an indication that employers are slowly moving out of the economic crisis, the United States Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently released updated numbers indicating that the demand for H-1B cap-subject petitions increased significantly during October 2009.

With respect to government investigations into visa fraud, the USCIS fraud unit is expected to conduct surprise inspections of up to 20,000 companies in the coming months. The inspections will focus on whether H-1B employees are performing their jobs in accordance with the visa’s specified terms.