U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that on April 1, 2009 it will begin accepting H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010. Petitions will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of the petition, not the date that the petition is postmarked. H-1B petitions cannot be filed more than six months in advance of the requested start date.

The H-1B program allows businesses to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers. The 2010 fiscal year numerical cap for H-1B petitions is 65,000, but the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of foreign citizens who have earned a U.S. masters’ degree or higher will be exempt from the cap. H-1B petitions for employment at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit organizations, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations also will be exempt from the cap.

Detailed information, including a processing worksheet, to assist in the completion and submission of fiscal year 2010 H-1B petitions is available on the USCIS web site www.uscis.gov or by contacting the USCIS National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.