Here is the release from USCIS.
April 27, 2009
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced an updated
number of filings for H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2010 program.
USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated
65,000 cap. The agency continues to accept petitions subject to the general cap.
Additionally, the agency has received approximately 20,000 petitions for aliens with advanced degrees;
however, we continue to accept advanced degree petitions since experience has shown that not all
petitions received are approvable. Congress mandated that the first 20,000 of these types of petitions are
exempt from any fiscal year cap on available H-1B visas.
For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium
processing period began April 7. For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the
premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition.
USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions. The updates can be
found on the USCIS’ Web site at www.uscis.gov/h-1b_count.
– USCIS –