U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is no longer accepting H-1B petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2013 because the cap  was reached on June 11. 

H-1B visas allow employers to hire foreign workers with specialized knolwedge or technical expertise, such as scientists, engineers, or computer professionals. Congress sets a limit each year on how many visas can be issued, and that cap was 65,000 for FY2013.

USCIS began accepting petitions under the FY2013 cap on April 2, and had received more than half of the petitions subject to the cap by May 11.  

USCIS is still accepting petitions filed for those who are exempt from the cap under the "advanced degree" exemption. As of June 7, USCIS had received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of workers who fall under that exemption.

Petitions for workers who have previously been counted against the cap will also not be counted toward the FY2013 cap and will continue to be accepted, including those to:

• Extend the amount of time an H-1B worker may remain in the United States.
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers.
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently on a second H-1B position.

Debbie Fledderjohann is the President of Top Echelon Contracting, Inc.