H-1B Cap Gap Extension

H-1B CAP

The H-1B cap is the limit on the number of H-1Bs allowed each fiscal year.* Currently, the cap is 65,000. The fiscal year begins on October 1 when a new batch of the 65,000 H-1Bs becomes available. 20,000 beneficiaries of H-1B petitions filed for new employment or for a change of employer are exempt from being counted against the H-1B cap if the beneficiary has earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education. See the USCIS website(link is external) for the more information.

H1-B Registration & H1-B Filing


As of Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B cap season, employers wanting to file a cap-subject H-1B petition must first submit registrations during a March 1 to March 20, 2020 registration period, naming and paying a $10 registration fee for each individual they hope to file for. USCIS will then conduct a lottery of all registrations received, and notify employers which beneficiaries have been selected by March 31, 2020. The employer will then have a 90-day period beginning April 1, 2020 in which to file a complete H-1B petition. An employer may not file a cap-subject H-1B petition for any beneficiary whose registration was not selected in the registration lottery.

*The cap does not apply to all H-1B visas. (The cap does not affect H-1B petitions at UNL.) An individual may be exempt to the H-1B cap if they are employed or have received an offer of employment at a qualifying insitution: an insitution of higher education, a nonprofit entity related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, a non profit reasearch organization or a government organization. The ISSO cannot advise on an employer's cap status. Please check with your individual employer and their legal counsel.

H-1B CAP-GAP

•All F-1 students on post-completion OPT who are the beneficiary of a timely-filed H-1B petition requesting change of status and an employment start date of October 1 of the following fiscal year automatically have their D/S and OPT work authorization extended to September 30
•This extension of duration of status and work authorization automatically terminate if the H-1B petition is rejected, denied or revoked.
•This provision is available only to students who are beneficiaries of an H-1B petition with a start date of October 1 of the following fiscal year and an OPT card end date between April 1 and September 29.
•This does not apply to those working for employers who are not subject to the H-1B Cap.