Ready… Set… File! :-)
UPDATE, May 02, 2016
USCIS Completes Data Entry of Fiscal Year 2017 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions
From USCIS:
USCIS announced on May 2, 2016, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2017 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS is unable to provide a definite time frame for returning these petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of submitted cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition is returned. USCIS will issue an announcement once all the unselected petitions have been returned.
Additionally, USCIS is transferring some Form I-129 H-1B cap subject petitions from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance the distribution of cap cases. If your case is transferred, you will receive notification in the mail. After receiving the notification, please send all future correspondence to the center processing your petition. If you are filing a Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, to upgrade your Form I-129 H-1B petition to premium processing, send the completed Form I-907 with the appropriate fee to the center processing your petition.
UPDATE, April 13, 2016
USCIS has announced that it received more than 236,000 H-1B Petitions in this year’s lottery , breaking last year’s record of 233,000 Petitions! USCIS also confirmed that the lottery was implemented on April 9th to see which applications would be further processed. USCIS will now reject and return all petitions not selected along with filing fees.
UPDATE, April 07, 2016
From USCIS:
| WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption.
USCIS will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will first randomly select petitions for the advanced degree exemption. All unselected advanced degree petitions will become part of the random selection process for the 65,000 general cap. The agency will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not duplicate filings. Before running the lottery, USCIS will complete initial intake for all filings received during the filing period, which ended April 7. Due to the high number of petitions, USCIS is not yet able to announce the date it will conduct the random selection process. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, will also not be counted toward the congressionally mandated FY 2017 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in occupations that require highly specialized knowledge in fields such as science, engineering and computer programming. We encourage H-1B applicants to subscribe to the H-1B Cap Season email updates located on the H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Cap Season Web page. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Facebook (/uscis), Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon. |
**UPDATE, March 28, 2016
USCIS confirmed that standard procedures will apply for the FY 2017 lottery: If more than enough H-1Bs are received during the first 5 business days in April, a random lottery will be conducted for petitions received during that time period, first for the Master’s cap and then the Regular cap.
**UPDATE, March 23, 2016
There have been reports of intermittent iCERT outages and slowness, as well as delays at DOL in processing Labor Condition Application (LCA) FEIN verifications. Some have reported receiving an FEIN verification by the time the LCA is adjudicated, even where the system displays a warning to enter a “valid FEIN” when the LCA is submitted and no e-mail communication is received from DOL confirming the FEIN has been verified.Where possible, you should submit FEIN verifications as far in advance as possible, particularly for cases subject to the H-1B cap.
UPDATE, March 17, 2016
Premium Processing for Cap-Subject Petitions: H-1B petitioners may request premium processing together with their H-1B petition. However, USCIS has temporarily adjusted its current premium processing practice based on historic premium processing receipt levels and the possibility that the H-1B cap will be met in the first five business days of the filing season. In order to prioritize data entry for cap-subject H-1B petitions, USCIS will begin premium processing for H-1B cap-subject petitions requesting premium processing no later than May 16, 2016.
Ready for April 1st? We are! We are hard at work this lovely Saturday morning getting ready for the April 1st filing date for H-1B cap petitions! I will post more pictures and updates throughout the next couple of weeks! Good luck everyone!
For more information on the H-1B cap, please visit my previous post: https://theimmigrationfiles.com/2016/02/its-almost-here-2017-h-1b-cap-season-begins-april-1st-2016/