April 1, 2010 marks the date that the U.S. CIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions from employers filing on behalf of new employees. The class of new hires is generally comprised of recent university graduates and overseas workers . Currently, U.S. employers are reluctant to add to their work force given the slow rebound of our economy. However, major economic indicators are pointing toward growth and by the end of 2010 the impact of government incentives for employers will spur more hiring.

The H-1B quota for fiscal year 2010 was met on December 21, 2009. In comparison to the previous two years of H-1B demand, it was well off the mark. In fact, December 21, 2009 marks the latest date that the H-1B quota was met in a decade. During the 2000's, H-1B need crept up until we had peak demand in fiscal years 2008 and 2009. For those two quota years, a lottery system was implemented to handle the overflow of petitions. We expect that the H-1B quota will be met before December 21st this year.