On April 14, 2008, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted a computer-generated random selection process on H-1B petitions to select H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009. Selected petitions would continue to full adjudication.

In a statement released on April 10, 2008, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that based on a preliminary count, it has received "nearly 163,000" total H-1B petitions out of which "more that 31,200" were subject to the H-1B Master's 20,000 cap.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued revised instructions, effective March 5, 2008, for the Application for Travel Document (Form I-131). The revised instructions require applicants for re-entry permits and refugee travel documents to provide biometrics (e.g., fingerprints, photographs) at USCIS Application Support Centers (ASCs).

NEW YORK: Over 30,000 highly skilled immigrants are underemployed in New York area, according to Upwardly Global. "Upwardly Global is rescuing those talents to positively impact their new communities," says Jane Leu, Founder and Executive Director of Upwardly Global.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) transmitted an interim final rule to the Federal Register on March 19, 2008 that prohibits employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee.

Fines, Prosecutions for Hiring Undocumented Workers to Increase Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced on February 22, 2008, that the fines for hiring undocumented workers will increase and that the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice are also working "to increase criminal prosecutions against the most egregious employer offenders."

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has assured an Indian delegation of entrepreneurs that he would personally look into problems faced by Indians getting business visa.

WASHINGTON: The US has barred employers from filing more than one H-1B visa application for a worker in a fiscal year, amid a growing clamor to raise the cap to allow more skilled professionals from India and other countries to work here.

WASHINGTON: Describing the cap on H-1B visas as "arbitrary and counterproductive", Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has demanded a revamp of U.S immigration policies to allow skilled foreign technology workers from India and other countries to come in greater numbers on temporary visas.

For fiscal year 2009, the first H-1B filing date is Tuesday, April 1, 2008. Petitions are to be filed at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Vermont and California Service Centers, depending on jurisdiction.