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The United State Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, as of December 10, 2009, 62,500 H-1B petitions had been filed for fiscal year 2010, inching closer to the general H-1B cap of 65,000. Although the H-1B cap of 20,000 for petitioners with advanced degrees already has been reached, USCIS will continue to accept those applications until the general cap is met.
This blog previously noted the recent rise in application filings after months of stagnation. Some observers predict that the cap may be reached in days, or by early 2010, according to Computerworld.com. The application surge, which began in October, has been attributed to increased seasonal demand and college hiring for various positions (in fields such as IT, education, and engineering), and also to re-filing of previously denied applications.