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H1B Visa 2015 – Frequently Asked Questions – Updates

Updated : Dec 9, 2014 (H1B 2016 FAQs )

H1B Visa 2015 season is over. Check below for H1B Visa 2016 Season.

Applying for H1B Visa 2016 ? Did you miss FY 2015 lottery ?

Check out -> H1B Visa 2016 – Start Info, Sponsos, Fees, News , FAQs 

Flash News Update  : 

  • May 5th : USCIS announced today that data entry of all FY15 H-1B cap petitions has been completed. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap petitions that were not selected in the lottery. They have announced it on their twitter and facebook pages.
  • April 18th : USCIS announced that they will begin H1B FY 2015 premium processing from April 28th, 2014. Previously they announced that they will begin, ‘no later than April 28th’. They just clarified that. You can read on USCIS website  
  • April 11th : USCIS announced that it received about 172,500 petitions for the H1B Visa 2015 Quota. Read USCIS : 172,500 Received – H1B Lottery Summary 
  • April 7th USCIS H1B Visa 2015 Cap Reached on April 7th. 

H1B Visa 2015 – Latest News Updates , Articles 

Looking for H1B Cap Daily Updates ?  Check  H1B Visa 2015 Cap count Updates Page 

Frequently Asked Questions about H1B Visa FY 2015 

When will H1B Visa 2015 Season Begin ?

USCIS accepted H1B Visa 2015 applications from April 1st, 2014. They had the window open for 5 working days. USCIS stopped accepting H1B Petitions for FY 2015 from Monday April 7th as more applications were received than the required cap of 85,000 petitions.

What would be the Cap count for H1B Visa 2015 quota ?

No changes to the H1B Cap for FY15, the immigration reform discussions did not go through, the cap limit remained same as last year.

  • Regular H1B Quota : 65,000
  • Masters H1B Quota : 20,000
  • It is to be noted that 6,800 visas every year are set aside for Singapore and Chile Free trade agreement filings, which is called as H1B1 program.

Would there be lottery for H1B Visa 2015 ?

We had H1B visa Lottery for fiscal year 2014. USCIS received about 172,500 petitions for FY 2015 . Our predictions were right, you can read the article H1B Visa 2015 Lottery Prediction analysis 

How soon should I start planning for H1B Visa 2015 ?

[ Updated : H1B Sesaon is over for FY 15, plan for next year FY 2016 ] Well, there is nothing like too early… Getting a good H1B Sponsor can be a challenge these days. You need to find a job that fits your profile and find a sponsor that has a job for you.  Some employers want to test out the capabilities of the candidate before they plan to sponsor H1B Visa. Typically, they would like students with masters from US work for them on internship or co-op.  If they like the candidate then they will sponsor H1B visa.  If you are planning to land in US from overseas countries like India, it could be even challenging to find a good sponsor. Maybe you would need to work with global IT services companies and make your way up. It can involve lot of internal process to get the process initiated… You are never early…. Read Step by Step Plan to Apply for H1B 2015 

How do I find Sponsors for H1B visa 2015 ?

This is probably the most asked question.  It can be a challenge to find a good sponsor. We have written quite a few articles on this topic. The fundamental concept of finding a good employer does not change.  You can use our H1B Visa Sponsors Database  and search for sponsors in a city or zip code. Check out the above links under 2015 latest news and updates for the current year’s article to find sponsors. You can also, read our last year’s article :  How to find H1B Visa sponsors, avoid fraud 

What would be the H1B Filing fee for Fiscal year 2015 ? 

There has not been any changes in the filing fee for the past couple of years. It did not change for fiscal year 2014.  The  H1B Visa 2015 filing fee can range anywhere from  $1,575 to $4,325  based on the size of the company (number of employees ). Also, the attorney fee can range from $700 to $3000. If you go for premium processing again that is $1225.  You can check out the detail break up of fee at : H1B Visa Filing Fee Details – Who Pays for What ?  

H1B Visa Immigration Reform – CIR – Proposed Changes ? The comprehensive immigration reform has not passed yet.  But, lets say, if it gets passed, the below changes may happen.

  • Annual H1B Cap will be increased from 65,000 per year to 110,000. If exteme demand, it can go up to a maximum of 180,000.
  • The H1B quota for STEM degree holders from American Schools will increase from 20,000 to 25,000
  • H1B Visa fees can up to USD $10,000.
  • More stringent rules on H1B visa adjudication.
  • Mandatory LCA posting on DOL website for at least 30 days, before it is certified.

You can read Summary of CIR – Immigration reform – H1B Visa and Green Card  . We will keep you posted with updates on CIR and H1B visa changes for this year, if any. Did I miss anything ?  Do you have any other questions ?

Note :  Some of the below comments about H1B Sponsors are negative.  Please be aware that these are comments added by individuals of companies, competitors and many others that may hate such companies. We do NOT vouch for any of the comments made as they are not made by us.

Under federal law (Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act), our Blog RedBus2US.com is NOT legally liable or responsible for information posted by public, general users or third parties that contains remarks that are defamatory for a company or individual.

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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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23,888 Comments

    • I am business analyst in accenture and I have heard out of 184 BA’s whose h1b was filed 89 got their visa. I am still waiting for my results.

      Reply
      • When you say 89 got their VISA I assume you mean that their application is picked in lottery, because as this stage it is not possible to get VISA 🙂

        Reply
  1. I am still waiting for for H1B lottery result.My employer has not informed my anything till now.
    But my Account nominated me for L1B.what should i think ???

    Reply
    • But I heard that IBM or any other big companies are not applying L1B nowadays as the rejection chances are very high… So, Did you request your manager or client has some urgent requirement that your company is applying l1b?

      I may be wrong. Hope for the best. Good Luck.

      Reply
  2. MY H1B is approved,now what are the chances of getting rejected in visa stamping? We are working in Emplyer – client (EC Model) I work for one of desi top Indian IT firm

    Reply
    • @Meher_sen21 – Congrats!!! do you mind sharing first 8 Digit of your receipt number? Vermont center or California?

      Reply
      • Pretty less! You have already crossed the hurdle of getting an approved I797. Do not worry and prepare well for your interview.

        Reply
  3. My employer is saying my status is “waiting”…
    So just want to know is still any hope remaining to get selected in lottery?
    Probably i am day-dreaming 🙂

    Reply
  4. Hi

    I have a question. Got mail from my employer that the package was returned. He told the check of $1575 was returned from USCIS. Could any one please confirm if this is the correct amount. Thanks in advance.

    Reply
  5. Hi Guys, Here anyone is waiting for package return??? I did not get the status either on package return yet or lottery results..can you tell me if you are in the situation??? People are telling like USCIS is having 2nd list to fill the remaining positions…(for rejected and double filling petitions)…

    Reply
  6. Please let me know what does it mean, status still it shows *** initial review ***

    On June 27, 2014, your address was changed relating to the I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER that you filed.

    Reply
  7. Is anyone here has bal global as their attorney….my company has hired them
    ..all my colleagues have got RFE…its been a month…no response send from bal global….how much time they are gonna take…

    Reply
  8. All Folks – Lets have some Fun Time and now each other better !

    Please provide below details for our self’s :

    Industry (IT/Engineering/ Pharma,etc ). –

    Years of Experience –

    Location (where LCA is filled for ) –

    Salary Mentioned in LCA –

    Thank You !

    Reply
    • Industry (IT/Engineering/ Pharma,etc ). – IT

      Years of Experience – 2+ Years

      Location (where LCA is filled for ) – AZ

      Salary Mentioned in LCA -$ 57K

      Reply
  9. I’m silent follower of this website since 1st of April, this website is very informative.

    Non-AD/PP/EAC141345XXXX, first it went in RFE , its query on employer (not sure what exactly), after responding it got approved yesterday.

    Thank you very much guys for sharing your experience and I came to know lot of things from this website.

    Good to luck to all.

    Reply
    • My status is moved to RFE and when I called to Consultancy they told like they will receive the document related to REF in a week.Can any body help me how much time it will take to change the status from RFE?

      Reply
  10. My petition got approved on June 26th ,( Regular category).I thank this forum very much,it is a very informative Forum,I wish you all good luck with your H1 process.

    Reply
  11. Please let me know what does it mean, status still it shows initial review

    On June 27, 2014, your address was changed relating to the I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER that you filed.

    ****** WHATS NEXT ?????

    Reply
  12. Please let me know what does it mean, status still it shows initial review *****

    On June 27, 2014, your address was changed relating to the I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER that you filed. ********

    Reply
  13. Hi,
    Please Please let me know what does it mean the below statement , status still it shows initial review

    On June 27, 2014, your address was changed relating to the I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER that you filed. Please check our website at http://www.uscis.gov for further updates on your case. Please wait until the end of normal processing time before calling customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for live assistance.

    Reply
  14. Hi,
    Any one please let me know what does it mean, status still it shows initial review

    On June 27, 2014, your address was changed relating to the I129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER that you filed. Please check our website at www.uscis.gov for further updates on your case. Please wait until the end of normal processing time before calling customer service at 1-800-375-5283 for live assistance.

    Reply
  15. Status for my Petition # WAC14146500XX got changed to Post Decision from Initial review.

    On June 22, 2014, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

    What’s Next ?

    Thanks you all !

    Reply
  16. 1 more week ends today. Still I don’t have any update on the lottery result. Is there anyone who got to know positive lottery result this week? Utterly disappointed. 🙁

    Reply
  17. Finally my Application status got changed to RFE today. EAC1414753***. With in how many days my lawyer and company will receive RFE query ?
    IBM SOA consultant experience of 8 years and done a degree from Computer Science and Engineering. Please let me know what kind of RFE might be receive in my case ?

    Reply
    • Hey buddy…
      I also recieved RFE today and my. I am also 7+exp and Comp Sci.
      Please update me here when u come to know wat evidence they r asking from u

      Reply
      • My case too received RFE last week 🙁 7 yrs in IT + B.Tech in Electronics and communication engg. not sure what the RFE is about though :(. My employer has not received the hard copy of the letter yet. Restless since the time i heard about RFE

        Reply
        • RFE need not be on education evaluation, it can be on Employer-Employee relationship or speciality occupation, i have seen cases where B.TECH IT applied for Business Analyst and got RFE to justify the applied position is under Speciality Occupation and bachelor degree is not required to perform the same. Hope yours would be simple….all the best!

          Reply
  18. Hi All,

    My receipt 14144*** dated on April 10 is still under initial review .The SOW our immigration team submitted is valid only for 2013 .Will I get RFE or is there any chance for approval ? Appreciate the experts response.

    Reply
    • You never know. If the officer keenly looks into the end date of the SOW, you will end up with a RFE. Also, there is a chance that you might get a RFE on something that you did not expect(in this case other than your SOW).

      Reply
    • The processing officer may or may not look into it (may goto RFE to provide additional evidence to justify requirement), but they may go as per the checklist, but definitely during the visa stamping, the consular officer will look into it as they are very keen on the length of the project, i am sure about that!!! But how come in such a big corp like CTS, you come to know about the SOW submitted only for 2013???, also the attorney might have surely raised concern during the assessment of your case before filing!

      Reply
  19. Yaru da nenga.. Summa lawyer…. Lower enu……Unga lawyer ra koncham Lottery resul pathu sola soulunga da…. Ellara It company mobility, GIMS team mail annupa materanga….

    Reply
  20. Accenture guys..Any latest news from the RMS team regarding the visa processing?Had been notified in may that i had been selected in the lottery..

    Reply
    • I am also waiting for the status. As heard from others i think they are giving the updates every 15 days.. may be we can expect some updates next week. on 17th june some of the people have got updates on both rejection and approvals. any idea if any others got on the week of jun17th

      Reply
        • How we did u manage too check details using link in rms, pls guide me as well. Also were u able to get ur reference number as well?

          Reply
          • When I said “links” I meant People working in RMS team. There are few going in my shuttle. I remember them when they signed the TRIP sheet and put dept = RMS.

            No…I didn’t get the RECEIPT Number. Nobody is as gutsy to share the Receipt number…It can get them in trouble ….

          • Can you find out if everyone will get to know their status by next week or there would be people who still have to wait to know the status is accepted or rejected

          • Hi,
            When did you get your status from RMS. is it +ve or -ve. do you know if they are not revealing the status.

    • They won’t share the approval information till mid of August. Atleast thats what they did last year. Even in lottery selection email, they have stated that there will be no further updates regarding this till Aug.

      Reply
  21. cts guys,

    any updates on reciept number in past 3-4 weeks… or any one got “not selected in lottery” confirmation mails?

    Reply
  22. Hi all, how long will it take to get the approval documents once the visa is approved. My case is selected in lottery and got approved on May 28, but I haven’t received any approval documents. Currently I am in US on an H4 visa.

    Reply
    • Thats weird. Your lawyer\consultant should have received the documents by now. It only takes around 2 weeks for the docs to be delivered. Did you check with them?

      Reply
      • I don’t think 2 weeks is the expected time. It might be the earliest probable time within which you can receive the docs. I have read in many forums that 4-5 weeks is a safe bet. Mine got approved on June 9 and so I’ve decided to wait till July second week before getting worried again(yea this whole visa thing is different stages and levels of worries!).

        Reply
        • LJ, I have seen multiple cases recently where both I797 forms and RFE docs have arrived in around 2 weeks. 4-5 weeks is too long a time to wait. I believe if one does not receive the docs within 2-3 weeks, they should contact USCIS to know the exact status and request to resend the documents, if necessary.

          Reply
          • Today I was able to contact my employer and got to know that they have received approval notice. Thank you everyone for the support!

    • Unless the petition is filed in PP, there is no deadline for USCIS for regular processing. However, they finish off the RP petitions in 2-3 months.

      Reply
  23. Finally received my approval after receiving my REF on. Responded on June 20.

    On June 25, 2014, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER.

    🙂

    Good luck to everyone!

    Reply
  24. My petition got approved on Jun 18th, does anybody know how long it takes for I-797 to arrive? I thought it would be the same time it took for the receipt…

    Reply
  25. Hi Frnds,

    I am one among the followers of this page from April 10th 2014. Till now my employer is saying they didn’t get the return package / Lottery results. Is it really possible. Is there anyone here who has received the lottery results recently.

    Reply
  26. Hi All,
    My case number is EAC14148***** and its still under initial review (It was an RP/NON AD process). Can anyone let me know how much time it takes for the status to change or for the case to get approved… I received an email from my employer on 6th May 2014.

    Appreciate your help!!

    Reply
    • My receipt number is EAC14851235. Even mine is in initial review. I am hoping it should be done in another 10 days as someone saying that they are doing faster this year compared to last year. Also, 148 (30th april) seems to be the last few days when they entered lottery selected receipts into the system. I have only seen 149, 150 so far and not above that, which aligns pretty well with the announcement that USCIS made in the first week of May that they completed entering all selected candidates into the system.

      Reply
    • Mine is EAC141405xxxx and is still under initial review! It’s been almost two months since I’ve received the receipt notice. I wouldn’t mind taking it a little longer as long as it gets approved! Good luck to you all!

      Reply
    • Hi,

      Not yet. Have you spoken with them. What is the current update. I was told by HR that my case is not selected but not yet received my package yet.

      Reply
    • Employer(Splendtek) emailed today the scanned copy of letter they received from USCIS stating not selected in lottery.

      Reply
      • Hi,

        I am also from CTS. My petition got approval this week. Do you know what will be the next steps from our side. As I am not getting any update from our H1B team.

        in myVisa site I can see I questionire is there which needs to be filled before december 2014.

        When can we go for stamping…..what else we need to complete before stamping.

        Regards,
        Partha

        Reply
  27. Hi

    I got below status update today

    Post Decision Activity
    On June **, 2014, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129 PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER. Please follow any instructions on the notice.

    Does it mean approval?

    What can I expect after this?

    Reply
  28. @ sunny ..Yes I did…they said mine is picked in lottery but have not provided me the receipt number so far…whats your story???

    Reply
  29. Hello Team,

    anybody from the WAC14145***** series got appvoed . this NON AD / RP/ .

    How many days will take to make decesion on the petition ?

    Reply
    • Hi ,

      Mine got approved after along waiting of 2 months yesterday.

      with same series WAC14145*****

      Thanks

      Reply
  30. Hi Folks,

    I have got email about my application – got Approved(EAC-14-143-5****). When can i go for Visa Interview(Stampinfg) .. any Idea about this ?

    Thanks & Best Regards,
    Arjun

    Reply
    • Once u get the required document from your petitioner, you can apply for the visa interview…you can book it on or after 1st july.

      Reply

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