The FY 2016 H1-B visa petition season will begin on April 1, and employers should plan to file petitions with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on that date.  The H1-B visa cap is 65,000 visas, with an additional 20,000 visas available to foreign nationals who have earned a master's degree or higher.  The minimum filing period for H1-B petitions is five days under USCIS regulations.  If the petitions filed during that period exceed the annual cap, a lottery will be held to randomly select the cases the agency will adjudicate.  In the likely event that the 2016 cap will be exceeded within the first five business days of April such that a lottery will occur, employers should begin working with H1-B candidates now to finalize all paperwork necessary to file a petition in early April.