On September 8, 2006, an administrative appeals court (the AAO) decided that certain high school teachers may be exempt from the H-1B quota.

By way of background, the H-1B laws provide that institutions of higher learning (i.e., colleges and universities) are exempt from the H-1B quota, but high schools and primary schools are not.  However, institutions that are affiliated with or controlled by institutions of higher learning are exempt.

Often, new teachers teach in high schools and primary schools as part of a program to complete their training and to qualify them for state certification.  These student teacher programs may be administered or controlled by the state's college or university system.  In that case, there may be sufficient control by the institution of higher learning to exempt the student teacher from the H-1B cap.

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