Every year there are only 65,000 H-1B visas available to applicants in general. This 65,000 is known as the Regular Cap. Beneficiaries who have “earned a master’s or higher degree from a United States institution of higher education,” are not limited by the regular cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, but there is a separate annual quota of 20,000 H-1B visas for those with U.S. Master’s degrees.  It should be noted that not all U.S. Master’s degree’s qualify for the additional 20,000 Master’s CAP quota. 

Is your  degree really a Master’s degree? 

In a 2006 Interoffice memorandum USCIS indicated that the fact that a degree is titled as a master’s degree is not by itself dispositive, and provided the example of doctor of chiropractic not being a master’s degree because it is an entry level degree that does not require the completion of a bachelor’s degree before entry into the program. USCIS adjudicators are required to consider the place the claimed master’s degree holds on the academic hierarchy of degrees. Specifically, to qualify as a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree must have been required to enter the masters degree program. 

Do degrees from the institution at which you obtained your degree qualify for the masters CAP? 

INA 214(g)(5)(c) requires the degree to be from an U.S. institution of Higher Education as defined in Section 101 (a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 10001(a)). 

Per 20 USC §1001(a)

Institution of higher education For purposes of this chapter, other than subchapter IV, the term “institution of higher education” means an educational institution in any State that—

(1)

admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate, or persons who meet the requirements of section 1091(d) of this title;

(2)

is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education;

(3)

provides an educational program for which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree or provides not less than a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, or awards a degree that is acceptable for admission to a graduate or professional degree program, subject to review and approval by the Secretary;

(4)

is a public or other nonprofit institution; and

(5)

is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, or if not so accredited, is an institution that has been granted preaccreditation status by such an agency or association that has been recognized by the Secretary for the granting of preaccreditation status, and the Secretary has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within a reasonable time.

To qualify for the master’s CAP, the  Masters’ degree conferring institution must have qualified as a “United States institution of higher education” at the time the beneficiary’s degree was earned. Matter of A-T- Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-04 (AAO) (May 23, 2017). It is not sufficient for the institution to be accredited at the time of adjudication or filing of the H-1B Petition. It should be also noted that the accreditation must come from a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association (one recognized by the U.S. secretary of Education). 

Institution of higher education  is defined, among other as a public or nonprofit educational institution, therefore degrees from private for profit institution do not qualify for the Masters’ CAP.