In a USCIS memorandum dated May 23rd 2017 USCIS clarified the qualifying criteria for the 20,000 H-1B visas accepted under the “H-1B Visa Master Cap”.
The policy memo is based on the AAO decision Matter of A-T- Inc. and establishes that:
For an H-1B visa cap exemption due to a U.S. master’s degree or higher, the U.S. master’s degree conferring institution must have qualified as a “United States institution of higher education” at the time the beneficiary’s degree was earned.
More on the H-1B Quota.