Looking to file a petition for a coveted H1-B visa for next year? You’re already too late.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has already gotten enough H1-B visa petitions to meet the federally-mandated cap for fiscal year 2009.

The visas are for foreign workers to be employed in “specialty occupations” - most often, that means foreign technology workers. As of now, only 85,000 are handed out each year (they’re capped at 65,000, with an extra 20,000 given to people who hold advanced degrees) and they tend to disappear quickly.

This year, petitions were accepted starting April 1. The USCIS said petitions received as of yesterday will be included in the random, computerized drawing to decide who gets the visas.

The quickness with which the H1-B visa quota is normally filled is one reason many experts (including employers in the tech industry) are calling on Congress to raise the cap. A few bills are in the works that would do just that, but they have yet to be passed. We’ll keep you posted.