Under law the cap is set at 65,000, but has been raised temporarily with passage of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998. In fiscal years 1999 and 2000, the cap is 115,000 and in Fiscal Year 2001 the cap is 107,500. Other H-1B petition approvals are not recorded against the Fiscal Year 2000 cap of 115,000. Of the 81,262 workers named on the approved petitions as of the end of February, a total of 51,574 were subject to the cap, and the remaining 29,688 workers were exempt from the cap. The workers exempt from the cap were previously approved for H-1B employment.
Counts represent a minimum number of approvals.