On 19 March 2008, USCIS announced that it had submitted an interim final rule to the Federal Register, effective upon publication, that prohibits employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee to ensure an equal chance for employers under the H-1B numerical limits. USCIS stated that "[t]o ensure a fair and orderly distribution of available H-1B visas, USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions." Related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) are not precluded by this rule from filing petitions on behalf of the same worker for different positions based on a legitimate business need.

The rule also makes clear that USCIS will deny petitions that incorrectly claim an exemption from any H-1B numerical limits and will not return the filing fee. For fiscal year 2009, the limit for most H-1B workers is set by Congress at 65,000, although the first 20,000 H-1B workers with a U.S. master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap. If the 20,000 advanced degree limit is reached during the first five business days after 1 April, USCIS will randomly select from those petitions ahead of conducting the random selection for the 65,000 limit.