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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.

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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23,888 Comments

  1. Din do….holo..vinhh…..blaaaaaa

    Loops sorry our HR from Mars said above , which means “you have not booked your time in time sheet. Please do so asap.

    Reply
    • $%& :%$&-() :&*–+-*+-/*– ;:*-&+((/*&/-

      ( means ….. We Are Still Waiting to hear from our Attorney …. hello we are talking about 2013 H1b results…)

      Reply
  2. I hav waitd for so long dat now I m pretty sure dat chances r dead now… its gud to b positive but we shud b realistic too

    Reply
  3. well well well!!!! following dis forum frm abt a mnth or so to get h1b updates, as I m also in the waitng que… wat I want to say k now dere is no hope left so guys move on n continue to watevr u were doing… we r just hopimg against the hopes dat our name wil b picked but its not, so leave it behind n move on

    Reply
  4. Hi Guys,

    My case status on USCIS website is showing as Post Decision Activity and it has been mentioned that it is been approved. So does it mean that i am through with all the checks for approving petition or still they will do some check?

    Thanks in Advance!! This page and people over here are great helper and motivator!

    Reply
    • Dude….

      Can’t you see it says “APPROVED”….???!!!

      What are you still worried about? It’s about your fake documents???

      Reply
      • Dude i just wanted to confirm as i am not much aware of different status!! If you cannot give genuine suggestion then atleast dont give shitty answers!!

        @Amit: My file number is starting with WAC1413!!

        Reply
  5. Non AD, RP
    I got confirmation from my employer that I got selected in lottery, Thank you so much god for this good news.
    And all the best for everyone in this forum, I know this waiting is very difficult, keep the hopes alive, All is Well.

    Good luck to everyone.

    Reply
  6. My application got Picked up in lottery. Thanks to all in the portal for sharing views and best of luck to others.
    Case- NonAD/RP/CA
    WAC14143**
    Notice date- Apr 23
    Could anyone suggest how much time is expected for final approval.

    Reply
  7. Guys,

    My Friend in my company law desk confirmed me over the phone that they have got the list of selected employes for H1B lottery. He just told me that I owe him a party and nothing else. I hope that means I am through…..

    I love you all and this website for the encouragement and all the info shared that helps us all for analysis.

    I would say keep the hope up as there is still some time.
    last year one of my collegue got the info in decemeber that he is throughy as many applications that were seleted in lottery were rejected due to XYZ reasons…

    So keep the faith..

    Inshallah…

    Reply
    • This is a weird way of communication. The companies do inform the selected candidates as and when they get information from the USCIS.

      I don’t know why some companies make it look so theatrical.

      Reply
  8. guys don’t know whether to believe r not.. but attorney says till they don’t receive packet returned nothing can be said…chances are always there.

    Reply
  9. Was planning for H1 application many days, my employer was keep saying go for H1. on 29th of March just 2 days before my H1 application my employer / company and attorney told me it will be a very tough/hard call to go for h1 application as i have no work experience in this field ( though i send all my documents certificates CV payment in January ) I just passed my graduation in Business Information Technology (3yrs) from University Of Greenwich ,England. Now my question to you all people will they reject my application coz of my Graduation which is 3 yrs instead of 4 years and no experience in I.T field ? please reply me cant sleep whole night !!

    Reply
    • If you are selected in the lottery, most likely you will get RFE for your education or may be a rejection because you don’t have 4 yrs graduation and no work experience. No one can predict what will be outcome when USCIS reviews you application. All the best.

      Reply
  10. I also didnt get any such email from CTS. I just got email from HR, saying they didnt receive receipt # for me, so i m not picked up 🙁

    Reply
  11. Is petition reviewed in Sequence?

    My petition with EAC 14149 got approved yesterday but my spouse petition with EAC14145 is still in Initial review state ?

    Both is RP, thru same employer.

    Reply
      • sorry did not read till end …Regular process so early result awesome mate…I dont think petition processed in order….nobody knows actully…we will have to just wait for the result….

        Reply
  12. scary indeed. are u from IT position and your petitioner had sucess with h1b visa before? Good luck anyway. RFE takes time upto september 30 as far as i have heard.

    Reply
  13. Can someone throw some light on my RFE case for specialty occupation:

    The following is what they requesting

    1) Detailed job description, % spent on each duty, degree reqd for each duty & organization chart.
    2) Evidence to provide that degree req is common to industry.
    3) Evidence to provide that my position is common to similar industries.
    4) Job announcement- copies of past & present job announcement (class field ads etc.)
    5) Past employment practice: provide evidence showing employer has a past practice of hiring candidates with a min of bachelors degree for this position, no of people employed in this position their transcripts and wage statements.
    6) petitioner product & services
    7) nature of position: Explain in laymen terms what differentiates the position from other non-specialty occupation
    8) Employers federal income tax
    9) business licence
    10) company profile (pamphlets, websites, brochures etc.)

    Anybody else got a similar RFE? what are the approval chances for this kind of RFE’s?

    Dont really know whats gonna happen.

    Reply
    • scary indeed. are u from IT position and your petitioner had sucess with h1b visa before? Good luck anyway. RFE takes time upto september 30 as far as i have heard.

      Reply
      • Its in manufacturing position, Non-IT. Yes the employer had similar positions approved in the past and never had a reject for other positions as well. I guess the H1b packet was not prepared properly by attorney with detailed job description because normally the items 8,9 and 10 should have been bundled with the packet

        Reply
    • Is your degree major and work scope same or different ? I know some people have MS in Mechanical Engineering but work in IT.

      Reply
      • my major is from mfg background so the overall work and scope is same. The occupation in the OOH (book referred by USCIS) says in some cases bachelors degree may be required.

        Reply
        • You didn’t say explicitly or specifically what the H-1 job title is. If OOH says Master’s deg related to a specific field is normally required and Bachelor’s deg is acceptable in some cases, then you should be OK. If OOH says what you put it “in some cases bachelors degree may be required”, then your case is very very problematic and your employer and atty will need to work very hard on the response to RFE. (The RFE, by the way, is a boiler-plate for cases needing justification of the specialty occupation; so it should be a surprise if it asks for items that were already submitted or addressed in the initial filing.)

          Reply
          • its high school degree reqd but in some cases bachelors degree may be reqd case, hopefully my attorney can do something good about it. I am almost concluded NOID and decided to packup by nov

          • its high school degree reqd but in some cases bachelors degree may be reqd case, hopefully my attorney can do something good about it. I have almost concluded denial in my case and decided to packup by nov.

          • My position is actually IE for which it would have been a cakewalk to get the case approved, but my employer screwed me by filing a different title as the different title matches the wages they are paying. I wasn’t even aware of this until my attorney told about this.

            I am pretty sure I am screwed. Almost decided to go back home.

          • Are they paying you less than what is mentioned in OOH for IE?
            Is it a small company less than 50 people? Did your company ever apply for H-1b before?
            I am a manufacturing engineer, did mechanical engineering & make way over what’s required. I negotiated this before i joined my employer. My job title doesn’t even exist in OOH. As long as you’re making more than 60k, you should be fine

    • Hi AD/RP/WAC/RFE,

      Last year mine have exact same kind of RFE the only difference I found here that I am NON AD guy . I am try this year too still looking for my receipt. Mine to Manufacturing System Engineering ( Master Degree ) from INDIA . Sorry to inform you that mine case my denied despite my best fight for it nevertheless I pray GOD that you clear your final hurdle .

      I have all the exchanging mails n reply still with me I wish you share with you if it help . you can reach me dharender82 gmail

      All the best ..n Gudd luck

      Reply
  14. Hi friends,
    I git ot selected in lottery and got receipt num frm my employer.
    Case no: WAC141395****
    Received 10th apr
    Noticed date 18th Apr.
    Still its showing Initial Review only.
    Can anyone tell me how many days it wil take to move to next process.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Did you pay for premium processing? My employer applied me through premium processing and here are the timeline.
      Received date 4/10
      Notice date 4/11
      Approved date 4/28

      Hope that will help you. Good luck!

      Reply
        • Most RP cases will be adjudicated July or after. That’s the reason why many ppl pay the PP fee to get a quicker decision.

          Reply
          • USCIS also has started approving RP cases.
            Mine was RP and got approved on May 14
            And I am from 148 series, so I guess USCIS doing randomly.

  15. Hai all,

    My petition got selected in lottery and got receipt num frm my employer.
    Case no: WAC141425****
    Received 10th apr
    Noticed date 22nd apr.
    Still its showing Initial Review only.
    Can anyone tell me how many days it wil take to move to next process.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  16. I have no luck. Its really very sad that, US visa is based on luck/lottery. I have work experience and thought of getting H1 visa and continue part time / online MS ( I don’t have enough money to do full time MS 🙁 ) .

    Well ,Life is not ended. I will continue my job (:D

    Reply
    • I m in the same boat. I have not received any confirmation as of yet ans my current OPT is going to expired on June 1st.

      How can you continue your job if you dont have H1B? can you take online classes as an F1 student? if yes, which school? Please advise as i dont know what is next?

      Reply
  17. It seems like the lottery game has ended…
    Congrats to all the lucky guyz and
    For all the unlucky aspirants Best of luck for next year
    Accept it and move on Destiny has better plans for U 🙂

    Reply
    • Sucks. Just give our packages back. Enough with this shit.
      Cheaters and lairs got receipts. Consulting companies makes money from broken H1B system. Honest people with a real job are waiting for the package to return.

      Reply
      • They say there still might be hope if you are from regular processing till 30th May!

        What confuses me is that USCIS tweeted on May 3rd saying all the data entry has been completed bla, bla and they would start sending out rejection packets but apart from a couple few here and there not many packets returned even after 14 days. I guess it’s not on USCIS’s priority list to send out rejection packets. They don’t give a damn if your life depends on it and thousands are in limbo and unclear about what might happen next day to them. If it’s really a random lottery then a good system won’t take more than a week to notify all selections and rejections. I smell fish.

        Reply
        • I will wait till the moment I have my packet returned. Although I know there is barely any hope left for PP applications, I still wanna wait for the wait-list which I don’t even know exists or not.

          Anyone get the answer from USCIS if there’s a wait-list?

          Reply
  18. Hi,

    Are there any QA guys from any company who got selected in the H1B lottery of have got their receipts already? Please post!!

    All the DB guys have got theirs in the company but not QA…: (

    Reply
  19. Hi CTS, how did you get to know this? who informed you this and when ? did the company receive your package back from CIS?

    Reply
    • I called our GIT team, They sent a general communication to all the associate who dont have received receipt by now. They dont have the petition back but at certain time has been passed so they are asking to check other options. L1B

      Reply
      • They have not sent any such mails. Dont trust them.. They are telling different stories to different people…

        Reply
    • We regret to inform you that to date Cognizant has not received a filing receipt for the FY2015 H-1B change of status petition filed by Cognizant on your behalf. This means that CIS may not have selected filing under the random lottery program, and the petition will not be processed by the CIS.

      Reply
        • I called our GIT team, They sent a general communication to all the associate who dont have received receipt by now. They dont have the petition back but at certain time has been passed so they are asking to check other options. L1B

          Reply
          • But I didn’t get any mail like this. why? I am still waiting. Did all cts folks get such mail.

          • Hi Spoke,, Have you got any mail like that.

            I request you guys not spread any rumor. None of my frnd has got any mail like this. And Pls dont call GIT. They are the culprit. they dont know what to answer. Day before yesterday they said us to wait for 7-10 business days to get the receipt, They will send the rejection mail later.
            This is hilarious 🙂

          • This news is true as i too received mail .Onsite L to H conversion CTS folks got mail to contact GSD to discuss options and/or next steps if applicable. . You should, under no circumstances, remain in the U.S. beyond your maximum period of stay on your current status”. Thank you!

  20. TCS folks please post here what you have heard from FDFU.
    Didnt hear anyone post from TCS, only a few who heard over a phone call.
    How long to wait ?

    Reply
    • Haven’t heard anything from Mumbai FDFU.asked my PM ,she is also unaware of results.mumbai FDFU won’t disclose anything at all, they will just us to wait.

      Reply
  21. Has anybody received a returned package?
    I applied last year and wasn’t selected – received returned application for H1B on May 13, 2013.

    This year I applied again and am still waiting.

    Reply
  22. Hello all

    Can you please advise ?????

    Any one PP / NON AD still waiting for approval ?
    Don’t know why it is taking more than 15 calendar days ?

    My friend applied !

    Please help .

    Reply
    • Hi which company is your friend from when was it applied
      Even I am sailing in the same boat not yet received receipt number

      Please let me know if your friend gets an update that would be more helpful for me

      thanks R

      Reply
    • Hi I am PP/AD/CA. Still shows Initial review. USCIS website says they guarantee premium processing in 15 calendar days. Not sure what could be the reason? Anyone also in my situation.

      Reply
  23. Immigration dot com via Twitter

    H-1 Receipts call to USCIS today 16 May. Regular processing says if we should wait for 60 days from 1 April, then email them for follow up.

    H-1 Receipts call to USCIS today 16 May. Regular processing says if we should wait for 60 days from 1 April, then email them for follow up.

    Reply
  24. Hello all

    Can you please advise ?????

    Any one PP / NON AD still waiting for approval ?
    Don’t know why it is taking more than 15 calendar days ?

    My friend applied !

    Please help .

    Reply
    • My friend applied from Vquest ,He didn’t received anything,Raj told he is not selected.Not sure how many people are thr

      Reply
  25. Hello all,
    I just checked my status and it changed to initial review to post decision activity.
    My application got approved on May 15th.
    My notice date was April 16th.
    I would like to thank god for my approval.

    I know it is really difficult to wait, but guys things will be ok. Good luck to everyone.

    Reply

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