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H1B Visa 2017 – News, Quota, Cap, Predictions, Lottery, FAQs

If you were one of the unlucky ones not picked in whopping 233,000 H1B 2016 Lottery Applications , you might be already wondering when is the next H1B season going to start.  Also, some of you may be studying in US and some working abroad and planning to work in US next year. This page will be constantly updated with the latest details and commonly asked questions around the next upcoming H1B Visa fiscal year of 2017 season news and updates.
[alert type=”warning” close=”false” heading=”H1B Visa Cap reached for FY 2017, Lottery Done “]  On April 7th, H1B Cap for FY 2017 was reached. Lottery was done on April 9th. Read News Summary – Over 236,000 Petitions for FY2017 [/alert]

When will the H1B visa 2017 season start ? Date ?

Short answer April 1st 2016. Typically, USCIS will start to accept petitions for the next fiscal year starting from April 1st of the previous fiscal year. USCIS fiscal year is from October 1st to September 30th. So, for H1B quota of fiscal year 2017, which starts from October 1st, 2017, USCIS would typically accept applications from April 1st, 2016.  The H1B Visa 2016 season started on April 1st of 2015.  Also, in the H1B Rejected Notices of 2016, USCIS mentioned that, the non-selected candidates can file H1B petitions for FY 2017 on or after April 1st, 2016.

USCIS announced on March 16th, 2016 that they will accept FY 2017 petitions from April 1st, 2016. Read Summary of USCIS press release FY 2017 .
Also, we have written an article summarizing on What to expect in H1B FY 2017 Season 

What is H1B 2017 Cap ? What are the H1B 2017 Quota numbers ? Regular vs Masters ?
If you new to H1B, I suggest you read All about H1B Visa Cap- Regular vs Masters. In simple terms H1B cap is a congressional mandated maximum number of petitions that USCIS can accept in a year.  As of now, below are the H1B cap number for fiscal year 2017.  The below numbers are confirmed in press release by USCIS on Mar 16, 2016.

  • Regular H1B Quota : 65,000
  • H1B Master’s Degree Quota ( only US Master Degrees) : 20,000
  • Out of the above, a total of 6,800 is usually set aside for Singapore and Chile citizens as part of the free trade agreement between them.

There have been many discussions around change in H1B cap numbers by Obama administration since 2013. The planned proposal was to increase the regular quota cap to 110,000 and Masters quota to 25,000.  No changes for FY 2017, the above numbers of 65,000 and 20,000 are officially confirmed by USCIS in their press release.

What is H1B Visa 2017 Prediction? Will there be Lottery again for FY 2017

Update :  USCIS Updated on April 12th, 2016 that they have received over 236,000 petitions for FY 2017 quota and the lottery was completed on April 9th.

Looking at the past trend of H1B season in the past three years, we could very likely have lottery for FY 2017. Last year for FY 2016 quota, there were 233,000 applications. We have done a detail analysis with the H4 Visa EAD rule in place considering the economy, students graduating, OPT news, etc.  You should read  article H1B Visa 2017 Lottery Prediction News, results, Date .

If H1B lottery, will there be any preference in lottery for Large companies ? Premium Processing 
Well, no preference for anyone, all are treated equally, including premium processing. There are many such misconceptions about lottery process, we have compiled a list of such myths and criteria, you should read Myths of H1B Lottery, Criteria

When to plan for H1B visa 2017 Application ? How soon ? What should be the strategy ?
It is never too late to start planning for your H1B 2017 season. If you plan to work in US on H1B visa in the next coming fiscal year, below are some suggestions based on your situation.

  • F1 Student in USA : If you are studying on F1 visa and about to graduate in next one year, you should seriously look at finding an internship or co-op at companies that can sponsor your H1B visa. You can search for H1B Sponsors in a particular area using our H1B Sponsors Search Tool and try to get an internship to work there on CPT or OPT after you graduate. This is a strategic move and will require sometime, so plan well.
  • Professional from outside USA : If you are a working professional outside US, planning to work in US on H1B, your best bet is to find Multinational companies that have major US presence and secure a job there, so that you can position internally for applying to H1B visa, when the season starts. This is a very strategic decision, you need to carefully assess your options, speak to the company if such options exist and then only choose it.
  • Other H4, L1 Visas : If you are on these visas, your best bet is to find companies just like I mentioned for F1 students that sponsor H1B visas and start interviewing and keeping the conversation going so that you can ask them to file H1B when the season starts.

We have put together a Step by Step Plan on How to apply for H1B 2017 Quota

How do I find a H1B Visa Sponsor – The most asked million dollar question ?
If you are student in the US, it is very straight forward, you find the list of H1B Sponsoring companies using the tool in an area as I mentioned above and get an internship in one of them so that they can sponsor your H1B visa.   Unlike, if you are coming from outside US, it can be tricky.  If you work for an Multinational company ( MNC), then they will have some internal process to pick the candidates and then process H1B visa for them…The other option that has been used and abused is the consulting companies route…Many a times, the H1B aspirants approach a body shop IT consulting company to file H1B for them and they apply for the same. It gets nasty with the body shop consulting companies.  The comments on this H1B Companies Reviews article are quite eye opening. I advise, you beware of the consulting companies and avoid fraud.  Also, WE as RedBus2US do NOT provide any guidance or assistance or sponsor anything. If someone claims that, it is pure fraud and they are trying to trick you, we are not responsible for that. Please be careful. Anyways, for various other options , You may read article How to find H1B 2017 Sponsors

What is the H1B visa 2017 filing fee ? Is it same or any changes ?
It changed slightly this year with the Omnibus Bill passed in December 2015, that will increase the H1B filing fee by $4000 for FY 2017, until 2025 for certain companies that have over 50 employees and have more than 50% of their employees as H1B or L1 visa holders in USA.  Check USCIS Guidelines on H1B Fee increase. Depending on the size of the company, the H1B filing fee can vary anywhere from $1,600 USD to $7,400 USD + Attorney Fee. There are various fees components that make up this number range, for more details Read Summary of H1B Filing Fee 2017 – Who pays for What ? . Below is a high level summary. Also, one key change is that,  there was $2000 USD additional filing fee as per Public Law 111-230, this law expired on Sep 30, 2015 and that is not included anymore.

H1B Fee ComponentFee in USD
 Base filing fee$325
AICWA Fee$750  or $1,500
Fraud prevent & detection fee$500
Fee based on Public Law 114-113 ( if applicable)$4000
Premium processing fee (Optional)$1,225
Immigration Attorney FeeVaries from $500 to $3000

What about Comprehensive Immigration Reform(CIR) and Obama Executive Actions for H1B 2017 Quota Increase ? 
There has been many articles and discussions since 2013 around immigration reform by President Obama and changes around and some like below have been discussed in the last couple of years, nothing moved significantly.

  • H1B Cap to be increased from 65,000 to 110,000 per year.  Also have provisions to have it up to 180,000 in case of extreme demand.
  • Advanced degree from US cap quota to increase from 20,000 to 25,000
  • The Filing fee for H1B could go up to 10,000 USD  ( Part of this came up as the fee increase in Omnibus Bill )
  • Additional H1B rules to avoid H1B Visa fraud by employers
  • Mandatory LCA posting for 30 days before it is certified.

The current status on all of the above are basically “No updates”,  there are no set deadlines for any of them and none of these are happening for FY 2017. You may read Summary of CIR Changes to H1B . Officially as per press release on March 16, 2016, the H1B cap is confirmed to be 65,000 for regular and 20,000 for masters…hence, no changes.

What is LCA for H1B Visa ? Processing times ?
LCA is a form that has to be filed with US Dept of Labor and get it certified before filing H1B petition with USCIS. It has to be sent along with H1B Package to USCIS.  It has all the relevant information about the job position like wage, location, title, etc. It takes about 7 working days for processing of the LCA by US Dept of Labor (DOL). You can read complete details at Why is LCA Needed for H1B – Processing Time, Salary 

H1B Visa 2017 Premium Processing Time :

USCIS Updated in their original press release on March 16, 2016 that the premium processing will begin no later than May 16, 2016.  But, on April 22nd, they updated that the premium processing for FY 2017 will begin on May 12th, 2016. What it means is that the official 15 calendar day SLA for premium processing petitions will be starting from 12th.  USCIS may process the petitions early as well, but officially their clock starts on that day.

H1B 2017 Case Tracker  :
Did you apply for FY 2017 ?  We have put together a tracker along with good graphs for analysis. It is completely anonymous as we do not capture your case number or any personal information. It is community contributed data, the more you add, the better for everyone, including  You !

[prompt type=”left” title=”Track your H1B Case” message=” Anonymously Track your H1B Case – Share and Get updated from Community.” button_text=”H1B 2017 Case Tracker” href=”https://redbus2us.com/trackers/h1b-visa-tracker/”]

Most Recent News of FY 2017 H1B
Below is the most recent news regarding H1B 2017 season. You can check the updates page as indicated below for the full history and details.

  • July 8th, 2016 ( Official ) : USCIS released a press note today indicating that they have completed returning all the petitions that were not selected in the H1B lottery for FY 2017. Read More details here 
  • May 2nd, 2016 ( Official Update ) : USCIS updated that data entry is complete for selected petitions in lottery. if you were selected, you should receive receipt notices in 2 to three weeks. If not, the chances are very slim to get selected. You should look at your plan B.  Read H1B Data Entry Complete Article for full details
  • April 22nd, 2016 : (Official Update) USCIS Updated that they will start premium processing from May 12th, instead of May 16th.
  • April 12th, 2016 – 6:30 PM EST : Official Update :  USCIS released a press note that H1B lottery was completed on April 9th and they received over 236,000 petitions for FY 2017 quota. Read Press Release Summary  
  • April 12th, 2016 – 11:50 AM CST ( Unofficial Update ) : It is reported on blog by attorney ( immigrationgirl ) that they have received about 40 email receipts of Premium Processing. What it means is that USCIS has already conducted lottery. We will keep you posted with updates. If I am not wrong, they are just drafting the press release now.

[prompt type=”left” title=”H1B 2017 – Latest News Updates” message=” Most recent and complete history of all latest breaking news updates from Official sources like USCIS and Unofficial sources for FY 2017 Season.” button_text=”Latest H1B 2017 News” href=”https://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2017-cap-count-updates-tracker-news/”]

When is the next H1B Season ?

The next H1B season starts on April 1st, 2017.  Wondering about your next chance for H1B and various details about the next H1B season, check out H1B Visa 2018 FAQs

Sample H1B Reject Notices for FY 2017 ?

USCIS has started to mail out the reject notices for FY 2017 petitions that were not picked in lottery. It says that the start date for next year H1B season is April 1, 2017. You can check out the Sample Reject Notice for FY 2017, Details

We have many more FAQs around H1B Visa 2017. We will continue to keep updating the page with latest news and updates regarding FY 2017. Bookmark this page and keep checking for updates.

   

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23,619 Comments

  1. Hi,

    One doubt. Does a person with 15 years of education(BCA,BCS,BSC) have an equal chance of getting selected in the lottery as compared to B.E B.TECH?

    Reply
    • As per my info, min 4 yrs degree is mandatory for applying H1b or equal yrs of work exp. is req. in lieu of it. Only 3 yrs degrees r nt valid in US.

      Reply
      • as far as I know 16 years of education is mandatory for US. For your question, lottery system doesn’t take any kind of preferences except who are AD.

        Reply
  2. This is 3rd attempt nonad /regular/Vermont center..with single application all times.no luck..need to think on plan B..

    Reply
  3. Oh my God.. It is depressing.. Atleast tell the result whatever it may be.. The wait and anxiety in eating my head..

    Reply
  4. Anybody from Aricent received the receipts/acknowledgment from the HR for the selection in the lottery ??

    Reply
  5. My petition is sent to vermont and as per the alert sent by USCIS they have transfered some cases to California. So does that mean i can wait longer than others or how can i know if my petition was transfered. Please help.

    Reply
  6. This forum is a perfect example on how these brainless baba folowers can screw up a place where in useful and knowledgeable info kept flowing….go eats samosas following the process swines…

    Reply
      • You F***!! You don’t even know the spelling for grammar and you are talking about that.. Shit.. Shut ur a** and get out of the forum you F*****!!

        Reply
  7. I spoke with my employer yesterday. Company has processed around 100 applications this time, but only 9 receipts came till now. He asked me to wait till this month end. At least till next weekend.

    Reply
    • no info from ISG yet…. i email fragomen …bt they asked to contact ISG …hope they release it soon. Let’s keep each other updated on HCL results. ..

      Reply
  8. @cts guys
    In Myvisa portal shipment logs are updated , does it mean GM team got my update or its an usual one.please clarify

    Reply
  9. I guess the game is over. Even from the casse tracker it’s clear that around 35% people got receipts. Since the select to reject will be 1:4 roughly this year so we can assume game over.

    So guys let’s get depressed for couple of days and move on like we did for so many instances like this in life. Time for executing other plans.

    Anyways the h1b scenorio will be same even for next couple of years as the job market is good in US. So guys try till you get lucky or be satisfied with your salary and savings in India.

    And please stop this normal baba samosa shit as it started getting annoying.

    OK some one now tell me active Canada FSW discussion forum.

    Reply
    • Here is the Canada express entry active forum for you
      canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/express-entry-expression-of-interest-b54.0/

      Reply
    • Job Market in Canada is awful please consider carefully…canadavisa.com is the perfect forum for your needs….

      Reply
  10. H1BSlaughter , nirmal baba, and all gods pls help me …. 2nd time AD/RP/CA still waiting 🙁
    Admin can I keep my hope alive ??

    Reply
  11. I have received my I-797C form and could see my first name is having a spelling mistake. What should I do now ? Please help me.

    Reply
    • SAMARAJAN,
      You will have to work with an attorney to correct it. This process is a bit complicated. You can search through the posts from last year where I mentioned everything in detail

      Reply
    • SAMRAJAN,

      Check w/ attorney if they mentioned the correct name in I-129. If yes, then they should contact USCIS and raise the issue w/ them and get it fixed. As long as the final approval notice has correct name, you are fine.

      Reply
  12. How many from Niche Software got selection? Kindly reply coz they are sharing any details over mails. 🙁

    Reply
  13. Can we people from Nichesoft also have a watsapp group..to atleast check what is going to happen on May 15 or later

    Reply
  14. Hey guys is there anyone from public accounting firm waiting for the update?

    Please let us know if any of you got good news?

    Reply
  15. Anyone received Ad/RP/CA receipt today or yesterday? Me and my friends, all are waiting but didn’t get any news from last 3 days .
    Is it over or still waiting is worth till next weekend??
    please help us.

    Reply
  16. Seriously what is this legitmate 2nd timer first time single application unless uscis tells them to avoid multiple applications if they have chance people will do it .you cannot get picked in lottery saying iam legitmate .Its all luck and your day will come .

    Reply
    • no simmy my employer did not get any notification from this Monday and also just received 2 receipts among many applications . It is because of due to slow processes may be – this is the reason given by them to us so let’s just hope we will get notified soon.
      All d best.

      Reply
  17. INFOSYS—-still waiting…
    GICS team says that the distribution of receipts would be from 16th May 🙁

    How come some guys reported that they have received the confirmation of lottery selection??

    Anyone from INFOSYS got any update ??or any status change in GICS?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • if your application is under RP/CA then yes sure you do have chances.
      man employers and lawyers are saying CA process is slow you can expect till coming wed surely.
      All the best!

      Reply
  18. Hello All,

    I am following this blog from quite a few days. Second time nonAD/regular/CA. I didn’t get selected this year.just spoke with my employer, he told me that the game is over this year

    Reply
    • hey ravinder, my employer and lawyer both told us to wait till next Wednesday because CA process is bit slow this time.
      so game is not yet over, stay on.
      All d best!
      hope you will hear a news soon.

      Reply
      • Thanks NA. My employer said cheque is also not encashed till now. Do I still keep hopes? This waiting is really killing me.

        Reply
  19. I have not seen people from any other countries except India are so desperate to get out of their shit hole -India. Indians shit outside, very unethical, smelly, dirty people. USA should ban any Indians to enter USA. They spread their uncivilized culture and behavior here in USA. I have been to India, it is full of slums, can’t believe how people live on these shit holes. My wallets were robbed by street beggers twice.

    Reply
    • We will take over you very soon and will convert all of you to Islam and Hinduism. You will eat curry soon. Just wait and watch… Buahahahaha..we will rule over you.

      Reply
    • Lol! You want to know why Indian want to come here?
      Here are few examples of indian born CEO’S in U.S
      Google Ceo- Sunder Pichai
      Microsoft Ceo- Satya Nadella
      Reckitt Benckiser Ceo- Rakesh Kapoor
      Pepsi Ceo- Indira Nooyi
      Harman Ceo- Dinesh Paliwal
      Citi Group Ceo-Vikram Pandit
      CTS Ceo-Francisco D’Souza
      Quest Diagnostics Ceo- Surya Mohapatra
      Adobe System Ceo-Shantanu Narayen
      Sigma-Aldrich Ceo-Jai P. Nagarkatti
      LSI Ceo- Abhijit Talwalkar
      THESE ARE JUST SOME PEOPLE OUT OF THE MILLIONS OF TALENTED INDIAN PEOPLE IN USA. It not called being desperate, its called drive to make it big in global corporate world. That’s why so many INDIANS apply for H1B because there are so many talented indian people. So I don’t know which shit hole your from cause obviously you have no idea why there are so many indians applying for H1B

      Reply
      • that’s why these listed companies are going down so quickly when Indians take over … avoid the stock of these companies …

        Reply
        • Do you know anything about stocks? Please provide proof as to how these companies are going down due to Indian CEO’s . I feel so stupid to even comment on a dumb post like Indian CEO= Poor Stock

          Reply
    • Look at you, I got you twice.

      “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
      – Nirmal BABA

      Reply
  20. guys who applied thru collabera can ping me in whats app @8886822338. we have whatsapp group with 4 members. can share updates among us.

    Thanks

    Reply
  21. I have a question. I’m AD/RP/CA. I haven’t received any notification yet. My attorney asked me to call 800-375-5283 to have a try. Then I called and the representative of immigration department said she had no authority to check if I got selected or not, but there was no application filed under my name. Does that mean I don’t get picked? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Questions,

      Don’t rely too much on USCIS customer support to provide you most accurate information w.r.t. this. If you don’t receive your receipt in next week or so, then there is a strong possibility that you didn’t make through the lottery.

      I am surprised that your attorney asked you to call USCIS. As official representatives of the employer, they should be doing all this.

      Reply

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