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H1B Visa 2014 – All you need to know – FAQs

H1B Visa 2014

 

H1B 2014 Cap reached on April 5th, 2013. Read : 124,000 H1B Visas Filed. Lottery Process
For this year FY 2015 H1B Info  read : H1B Visa 2015 – FAQs

Page Updated :  January 18th ,  2014

As USCIS is all set to accept H1B Visa petitions for the fiscal year 2014, many of you have questions on various aspects of filing H1B Visa 2014 like fee involved, lottery chances, H1B sponsors, Change of status, start date, end date of accepting H1B Visas, etc. This page will track all the H1B Visa 2014 News updates, Cap count information, FAQs, etc. Bookmark this page !  We have divided the page to various sub sections for your convenience.

FYI. Last year quota,which is H1B visa 2013 cap reached on June 11th, 2012.

 

H1B Visa 2014 News Updates

 

FAQs – All you  need to Know  !

Over the years, we have observed that prospective H1B visa seekers are always looking for certain pieces of information. We have grouped such information and created FAQs as listed below :

When will H1B Visa filing season start for Fiscal year(FY) 2014 ?

H1B visa filing season for fiscal year 2014 starts from April 1st, 2013. USCIS did a press release confirming the same.
How to find H1B Visa 2014 Sponsors ? Various Ways to find H1B Sponsoring companies
Finding right H1B Sponsor can be a very daunting task. There are few options to find sponsors like checking the H1B Sponsors Database and randomly contacting employers, working with IT outsourcing companies, looking at options in American Universities, Networking with friends. Each of these options are explained in this article :

How to find H1B Visa 2014 Sponsors ? Avoid Fraud

Why do we call H1B Visa 2014, when the petitions are filed in 2013 ? 

USCIS operates on a fiscal year basis instead of calendar year ( Jan 1 to Dec 31st). Its fiscal year starts from October 1st and ends on September 30th. On that lines, USCIS’s fiscal year for 2014 starts from October 1st, 2013 and lasts until September 30th, 2014.  So, though we file H1B petitions in April of 2013, they are counted towards H1B visa fiscal year 2014 and everyone calls it in short form as H1B visa 2014.

What is H1B visa 2014 Cap count for Regular quota and Masters Quota ?

If you are not aware of H1B cap count, it is the congressionally mandated numeric limits for H1B petitions based on category. Regular quota is for anyone who meets H1B visa requirements and Masters quota is specifically for students who have a Masters degree from US University. Typically, below are the numeric limits… ( we had these H1B cap limits set in 2004, if any changes by USCIS, we will update this page)

  • Regular Quota Cap – 65,000
  • Masters Degree Quota Cap – 20,000

Also, typically USCIS sets aside 6,800 visas  for Singapore and Chile Free Trade agreement filings, which is H1B1 Program. Also, read article All about H1B Caps – Basics Calculations, Lottery

 

H1B Visa 2014 filing deadline – What is the last date ?

Well, there is no set deadline as such by USCIS. They start to accept petitions from April 1st, 2013 and will continue to accept H1B petitions until the H1B cap (85,000) is reached. It can vary based on the H1B visa demand.

 

Will there be Lottery for H1B Visa 2014 ?

This is most commonly speculated question by many H1B seekers. Due to very high demand and hype for H1B workers, we had lottery in some of the previous years. But we do not know, we just have to speculate based on past data and economic conditions. As done in previous years, here is our analysis:

Check out H1B Visa 2014 Lottery prediction- USCIS Data Analysis

. You can also check out last year’s: H1B Visa 2013 lottery prediction 

 

What will be H1B visa 2014 filing fee ? Any changes ?

There has not been any changes to the filing fee for the fiscal year 2014. Check out the article : H1B visa 2014 filing fee – Who Pays for what ?. In general, it can range from $1,575 to $4,325 based on the number of employees ( this does not does not include attorney fee and premium processing fee).

 

International Students  – Can we do Change of Status ( COS) from F1 Visa to H1B visa for FY 2014 ?

Yes, international students pursing their Bachelors, Masters or PhD programs from US Universities, who may be working on OPT, can file a H1B Visa petition to USCIS with Change of Status(COS) option.  The advantage of COS from F1 visa to H1B visa is that you can continue to work after OPT expiration starting from October 1st, 2013 without leaving the country.  You have to do the COS before your OPT expires to maintain legal status in America.

 

How soon Can I start working, if I file for H1B visa 2014 fiscal year ?

One can start working from October 1st, 2013 , if you have an approved H1B petition. You may need to get H1B visa stamping done, if you file your petition from overseas and wish to come to America on H1B visa.. Unlike, if you are filing for a COS by staying in US, you can start to work without leaving US for H1B visa stamping.

 

What is current H1B visa 2014 cap count ?

The H1B season for FY 2014 will begin on April 1st, 2013. We will keep track of the USCIS cap count updates with analysis.

All H1B Cap counts will be tracked at :  H1B visa 2014  Cap Count Tracker .

In the mean time, you can check out our FY 2013’s  : H1B visa 2013 Cap count Tracker

 

Would you like to be informed about H1B visa 2014 ?

Subscribe for FREE H1B News, Cap Count updates below:

Photo of author
Satheesh Kumar Ilu, commonly known as Kumar, is the founder of RedBus2US.com. He is an Immigration and Study Abroad expert. He holds an MS from the University of Houston–Clear Lake and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He studied, lived, and worked in the U.S. and Singapore for nearly two decades, and has traveled to over 25 countries.

   

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7,993 Comments

  1. Any Regular processing applications got reciept? Assuming they will start sending next week, I may kill myself over the weekend 😉 I got nightmares about rejection 🙁

    Reply
  2. Finally got receipt notification –

    My attorney emailed me this morning at 11:30 am EST
    Vermont –
    regular quota premium processing

    All the best to you all!

    Reply
    • Please some one let me know if any one got receipt number for regular non premium. Can’t hold this suspense any more?…

      Reply
  3. Just got my petition acceptance at 12:44.
    Premium Processing, Regular CAP
    cant believe it actually happened. very happy!!

    Reply
  4. Just got my petition acceptance at 12:44.
    Premium Processing, Regular CAP

    cant believe it actually happened. very happy!!

    Reply
  5. Just got the confirmation from my attorney regarding my case (premium regular service at California center) for precessing a few min ago, I understand all of you guys, I was so much stressed till I got this answer, it was a pure torture. I hope all of you get an answer really soon. Do not worry, USCIS is still sending emails, and in fact my attorney told me that they are sending the answers to us slowly and more are coming. So, if someone is saying it is finished they all want to just make you stressed.

    Reply
  6. I work for a big Indian IT company, I talked to my company concern dept and they told me…everything will be cleared by 20-April, next week end, everybody..Regular, Master, PP ..will get receipt..and by 26-April, Everybody will get pkg return.

    Those who got receipt, Good luck for them.
    Those who are waiting like me…double Good luck for them…
    Mine is Regular, Non AD, RP. I can’t even concentrate my work these days.

    Reply
  7. I think I have spent the larger part of my waking hours in the last 10 days worrying about the H1b visa, first application and then the receipt notice.

    I am not even sure if my visa was applied under PP or regular. If I were to speculate, I would think that USCIS will first send out receipt notices or rejection packets by 15th April. If it finishes early, USCIS may then start sending notices out for regular category, which may take anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks.

    Since USCIS has also sent receipt emails for PP applicants on Saturday evening in the past, I would guess that it is safe to wait at least until Saturday (pp applicants).

    Good luck to all of us who are still in waiting.

    Reply
  8. This whole H1B wiat is killing me, all my friends who applied thro PP got a receipt already. May be I should also, aske dmy attorney to apply in PP.
    Anyone of u know whats the total number of Applications for Advanced Degree cap? I know the total number of applications are 124,000 but what about for advanced alone?
    Someone throw some light on this.

    Reply
    • For advance degree cap it is 20,000 but if there are more than 20,000 applicants they are than added to the regular cap and was selected through lottery.

      For example.. suppose USCIS received 24,000 applications for AD. They than had a lottery and selected 20,000 out of 24,000 applications. Now the remaining 4000 was added into general quota and had a lottery with the other 65,000 applications for general quota.

      So AD applicats gets two chances and most of them gets it. All the best to you, i`m sure you`ll receive it. Hope for the best and have patience. God Bless

      Reply
  9. This whole H1B wiat is killing me, all my friends who applied thro PP got a receipt already. May be I should also, aske dmy attorney to apply in PP.
    Anyone of u know whats the total number of Applications for Advanced Degree cap? I know the total number of applications are 124,000 but what about for advanced alone?
    Someone throw some light on this!!

    Reply
  10. My application for regular quota under normal processing was submitted at Vermont. Any idea when they will start issuing the reciepts for the same.

    Reply
  11. My application for regular quota (65000) under normal processing was submitted at Vermont. Any idea when they will start issuing the reciepts for the same.

    Reply
    • I dont know if its true or not. but my lawyer told me regular processing people would get their receipts only through mails so therefore its going to take 2-4 weeks to have the receipts. All the best I am in the same boat as you. Hope for the best.

      Reply
  12. Hello so after reading all the comments, blogs and discussions I`ve come to the conclusion that everyone who has applied for Premium processing irrespective of regular or AD quota has already received or is still receiving their receipts. USCIS is sending an email as well as mails to all those you applied in Premium Processing.

    As for regular processing no one has received any receipts yet because USCIS is sending it out only through mails. I dont know anyone as of now who has received a receipt for regular process of general or advance degree quota.

    Please correct me if i`m wrong.
    My company applied for regular process in general quota for me and I am still waiting for a reply. So hopefully by end of next week by GOD`s grace all of us who are waiting under general processing is going to get their receipts.

    Reply
    • Paromita .. you are right Regular processing havn’t received anything till now . I think USCIS will start sending next week ..

      Reply
  13. So Now there will be no way to move to premium processing ?
    As USICS will start the premium process from 15th and we still have no idea about our selection.
    My lawyer told me that we will move on to premium processing once we can the receipt and i guess it’s going to take a while.

    Reply
  14. So Now there will be no way to move to premium processing ?
    As USCIS will start the premium process from 15th and we still have no idea about our selection.
    My lawyer told me that we will move on to premium processing once we can the receipt and i guess it’s going to take a while.

    Reply
  15. So Now there will be no way to move to premium processing ?
    As USCIS will start the premium process from 15th and we still have no idea about our selection.
    My lawyer told me that we will move on to premium processing once we can the receipt….and i guess it’s going to take a while.

    Reply
  16. Hi,
    I have applied for Regular PP. But still no updates. Are they done with the premium processing.
    Guess most of them got the receipt number for PP. This waiting is making me sick

    Reply
  17. Hi,
    I have applied for Regular PP. But still no updates. Are they done with the premium processing.
    Guess most of them got the receipt number for PP. This waiting is making me sick.

    Reply
  18. Hi,
    I have applied for Regular PP. But still no updates. Are they done with the premium processing. Guess most of them got the receipt number for PP. This waiting is making me sick.

    Reply
  19. Hey guys. One of the co-worker got H1B approval and I think he was qualified just for the regular cap and not in PP process, which means I’m not selected for the regular cap?

    Reply
  20. Hey guys. One of the co-worker got H1B approval and I think he was qualified just for the regular cap and not in PP process….

    Reply
  21. Congrats to all who got selected …..

    But this waiting is killing me now…..I applied in MS cap under regular process.

    anyone got any feedback under regular process ?

    Reply
  22. Guys, I emailed my company’s law firm and they had already received an acceptance for me but never emailed me. It looks like they received it on Monday! Clearly they had no idea how much I’ve been stressing waiting over here. I was regular quota (not masters), premium processing.

    The California Service Center has received the following
    I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker
    that had been filed under the Premium Processing Program:

    Receipt Number: _________
    Date Received: 04/08/2013
    Petitioner: _________

    Beneficiary: _________
    DOB: __________
    Classification sought: H1B

    And then some more general info.

    Reply
  23. When regular processing for Advance degree at Vermont starting . Any body has got receipt please share only Advanced degree / regular processing at vermont service center only Please
    Update

    Reply
  24. I received my receipt number this morning. It was regular PP processing Vermont Service Center. Receipt date is showing as 04/10/2013.

    Reply
  25. Thanks for your precious information.
    I used them to determine if USCIS started the generation of receipt letters for non PP applications. Here is what I found:
    On April 10, USCIS started to send out the receipt notice for non PP petitions: This is proof of my arguments.
    “…On April 10, 2013, we received this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or contact our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283…”[Can be check on USCIS.gov using this receipt number: WAC1313053859]

    All the PP petition receipt notices were already sent out. You can see that the verbiage is different and looks like this:
    “…On April 10, 2013, the 15-day premium processing clock started on your I129,PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. You will be contacted by the office that is processing your case when a decision is made or additional information or action is needed. Please check our website at http://www.uscis.gov for further updates on your case. Your premium processing receipt notice contains contact information for direct inquiries on your case….” [Can be check on USCIS.gov using this receipt number: WAC1313053858].

    So, if they really started send out the physical mail by April 10, some of non PP will receive their receipt by this Friday.

    Reply

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