Home » US Immigration - Visas » H1B Visa » USCIS News : H1B Petitions Selected in Lottery Data Entry Completed, Next Steps

USCIS News : H1B Petitions Selected in Lottery Data Entry Completed, Next Steps

I know many of you have been waiting for the update on the H1B Visa 2016 petitions awaiting receipt numbers and the lottery results. It has been painful wait as always for many of you waiting… Earlier today USCIS released a news alert indicating that the Data Entry is completed for all the H1B petitions selected in lottery for the fiscal year 2016. Below is the quick summary and analysis.

Summary :  H1B Petitions Data Entry Complete

  • USCIS announced that they completed data entry for all the H1B petitions that were selected in the lottery.
  • USCIS will start to return all the petitions that were not selected in lottery and mail out all the rejection notices.
  • USCIS does NOT promise any time frame for  returning the packages not selected in  lottery due to the high volume and they ask employers/ petitioners not to inquire USCIS regarding their petition until they receive a receipt or return package.

What can we take away from this news alert from USCIS ?

In the past USCIS did not release any news alert like today regarding the data entry of applications. Many websites have been speculating that data entry is complete and spreading some rumors…I believe, USCIS has released this alert just to confirm everyone that the data entry is complete from their end and have all the stake holders on the same page…

It seems like the DHS Note to All SEVIS users released last week, has been generating quite a bit of  inquiries regarding the filed H1B petitions to USCIS…this alert is to clarify to everyone that they should not reach out to USCIS regarding their petition until they get some information from USCIS.

What is missing from this news alert for all the petitioners is that they have not given a time frame on when the employers/ petitioners can expect to receive the rejected petitions that were not selected in the H1B 2016 Lottery .  This could be very frustrating for everyone waiting for their petitions.

When to expect H1B case Receipts ?  Rejection Notices or Return Packages ?

If your petition was premium and selected in lottery this year, you should have already got something in email as the 15 days SLA for those petitions’ is May 11th, either for a decision or any action like RFE, etc.. If your petition was filed under regular processing, what I guess is that, if your petition was selected in lottery and receipted, if you have not received anything yet, you should expect your H1B case receipt notice in mail in the next couple of weeks….If you do not hear anything in the next 15 days or so, you probably need to think about your other options…

Having said that, you cannot be really sure if your petition was not selected until you get a rejection notice or return of your original package.  Last year, USCIS mailed out rejection notices for petitions not selected in lottery until late June.   What USCIS mentioned today is that they will release an alert indicating if they have mailed out all the rejection notices.  Well, lets hope they mail out those notices soon so that it cuts down the wait for many waiting anxiously…We wrote an article last year around your options, you can read the Options, if NOT selected in H1B Lottery so that you can be prepared…  Also, I request you to update your petition’s details in our H1B Case Tracker, so that others can get some high level info. The information is fully anonymous as it does not show any personal details.

As I always say, if you are lucky, you would probably get H1B receipt number, if NOT…don’t worry, it has nothing to do with your talent or education…it is an external factor and you should not lose your confidence on yourself…it is not the only destiny and end of your life’s dream…Just take your setback as an opportunity to explore options to work in other parts of the world…We will try to write articles on other parts of the world.

What are your thoughts ? Did any of you get return packages already ?

Reference :

   

Other Articles

2,206 Comments

  1. Found this discussion post on murthy law blog..finally some action against the h1-b visa abusing outsourcing firms!

    http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/11/16/h-1b-visa-reform-bill-at-a-glance/

    Reply
  2. H1B Selected and received approved petition copy… Thanks to the forum for keeping me informed… Best of luck to all who are still waiting and sorry for the friends who were not selected…!!

    Reply
  3. Got selected in Lottery in May and no update after Lottery.
    Is there any deadline for USCIS to share the details?

    My employer is not ready to share the Case number. So need to depend on employer only completely to check the status.

    Thanks,
    Josh

    Reply

Leave a Comment