USCIS estimates that as as of 9 April 2012, approximately 25,600 H-B cases had been receipted. Out of these petitions, 17,400 are for bachelor's degree and 8,200 for for people with advanced degrees. These numbers are considerable hire than the last year's at this time.
USCIS has indicated that 22,323 cap-subject H-1B petitions had been received as of April 4, 2012. Approximately one quarter (1/4) of these cases are for advanced degrees. According to USCIS, the number of filings received is almost double the number of filings received by USCIS during the same time last year. It would appear that H-1B numbers are likely to get exhausted a lot earlier than last year.
Some folks are predicting that H-1 quota may last a lot longer than just April.
Remember also, if there is a lottery, ALL cases received by and including 5 April will be included in the lottery. As the regulation 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(ii)(B) states:
My I-140 was filed in February 2004. The National Visa Centre, in its letter dated 24th June 2010, informed that they had completed processing of my petition seeking immigration to the USA and had forwarded it to the American Embassy/Consulate at New Delhi. I was informed that an immigrant visa interview had been scheduled at the US Consulate, New Delhi on the 9th of August, 2010 at 10.45 am.
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions to Begin April 15, 2013
Released: March 15, 2013
WASHINGTON: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.