USCIS announced that as of 12/15/2009 it has received 64,200 of the available 65,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY-2010.  The numbers are almost gone and given the week it takes from the time of filing the LCA to its probable adjudication, the odds of petitions being accepted for a petition that one would prepare from scratch at this point are slim.

However, given how long the numbers have lasted this fiscal year, the wait until H-1B cases are accepted for FY-2011 cases is not too long.  For those willing to start on October 1, 2010, their employers may file H-1B petitions as of April 1, 2010.  Also be sure to ascertain whether the petitioner may be cap-exempt and therefore able to file H-1B petitions throughout the year.