USCIS allows certain organizations to file H-1B Visa petitions that are exempt from the annual quota.
In order to qualify as cap-exempt in the eyes of USCIS, the related affiliated or nonprofit entity must meet one of the following criteria:
- Both the institution of higher education and relevant nonprofit share ownership or control by the same board or federation;
- The nonprofit is itself operated by an institution of higher education;
- The nonprofit is attached to an institution of higher education as a member, branch, cooperative, or subsidiary; or
- The nonprofit entity has entered into a formal written affiliation agreement with an institution of higher education that establishes an active working relationship between the two for the purposes of research or education; further, a fundamental activity of the nonprofit organization is to directly contribute to the research or education mission of the institution of higher education.