US Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) has announced the number of H-1B petitions received as of April 8, 2010 to be counted toward the FY2011 H-1B cap:

H-1B Regular Cap: 13,500 (65,000 Cap)

H-1B Master's Exemption: 5,600 (20,000 Maximum)

These numbers mean to us that the U.S. economy is still recovering and employers are still not hiring in the volumes of past years. Fortunately, this means that for employers who are still hiring professional and/or specialized workers eligible for an H-1B visa, a valuable immigration option still exists. To have the best chance of securing an H-1B visa for FY2011, we still recommend planning ahead and filing the H-1B petition as soon as possible.

For more information on the H-1B cap count, please visit the US CIS webpage linked here.