Updated : November 25th, 2015
H1B Visa 2016 Filing Season Complete, Cap reached on April 7th, 2015.
Planning for next H1B season, Check out H1B Visa 2017 FAQs
As many of you know, H1B Visa 2015 quota was over in the first week and a whopping 172,500 H1B petitions were received in first week by USCIS. H1B Lottery / random selection was held by USCIS to select 85,000 H1B petitions to fulfil the work permit cap. Many of the unlucky ones are already wondering about next year H1B Visa quota. Also, some of you are planning for H1B visa for next year, you also would be wondering regarding the same. This article addresses many of the common questions, it will be updated constantly, whenever any changes to info. Bookmark this page ! To start with, firstly the news updates on this season, followed by many commonly asked questions.
Official & Unofficial USCIS News Updates Regarding H1B 2016 Season
- November 25th, 2015 : There is no special news as such, but we have our readers reporting that their H1Bs are still being approved that were under regular processing. So, if your status is stuck at one status, there is still some hope…
- July 14th, 2015 : USCIS released a note saying that they have returned all the petitions that were not selected in lottery for FY 2016. If you do not hear back from USCIS by July 20th, then you can contact them. Check Press note
- May 4th, 2015 : Data Entry for Selected H1B Petitions Completed
- April 14th, 2015 : Premium Processing H1B 2016 starts from April 27th
- April 13th, 2015: USCIS receives 233,000 for FY 2016 Lottery complete.
- April 7th, 2015: H1B Cap Reached for FY 2016. Summary of USCIS News
- April 6th, 2015: Guidance to file Second Petition, if Delivery Service Errors
When will the H1B season for fiscal 2016 begin ?
USCIS will accept petitions for H1B Visa 2016 season starting from April 1st, 2015. USCIS did a press release on March 12th outlining the details. Read summary of press release by USCIS on H1B 2016 .
Will there be lottery again for H1B Visa 2016 ? Predictions ?
We had lottery for FY 2015 and FY 2014. The total number of petitions filed for FY 14 were about 125,000 and for FY 2015, there were about 172,500 petitions… As H1B Quota did not increase for FY 2016, and the demand does not seem to decrease, we would very likely have lottery for FY 2016. Read H1B Visa 2016 Lottery Predictions, Dates, Results
What is the H1B Visa quota Cap Count ? Would there be any changes to H1B 2016 count ?
H1B Visa quota cap count is the total number of petitions that USCIS will accept for a fiscal year to provide temporary work permit for highly skilled workers. For the 2016 fiscal year, the cap count is as below :
- Regular H1B Quota : 65,000
- H1B Masters Degree Quota ( only US 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.
As per the press release in March 2015, the quota did not increase. To give some background, as per the Obama executive action in Nov 2014, no changes were announced to the H1B Cap count. There was proposal in 2013 to increase H1B cap from 65,000 to 110,000 and Masters quota to increase from 20,000 to 25,000 did not go through as of March 2015. At least, for this FY 2016 season, the quota is fixed and it will be as above and no changes.
When should I start planning for H1B Visa 2016 ? What are the steps ?
It depends on your situation. Below are few scenarios and your plan.
- If you are a student on F1 Visa in USA, you need to plan for your internship/ CPT or OPT employment at a company that can sponsor your H1B Visa for FY 2016. In my view, you should start now to find something for the fall 2014 and continue that for next spring so that you can file for FY 2016
- If you are in other country and planning for H1B, it is good to start your process around the end of this year 2014. It will give you enough time to find sponsors, search for job, etc.
- If you are on H4, L1 or other visa in USA and planning for H1B for FY 2016, you also should consider looking around end of this year i.e. December 2014.
We have published step by step plan, you can read the article How to plan for H1B Visa 2016 ?Step by Step Guide
Most asked Question – How do I Find H1B Sponsors for FY 2016 ?
This is a million dollar question ! One of the biggest challenges is to find a good sponsor that can offer you a job and wait for you to start work after 6 months of filing your petition. You should review the detail article on How to find H1B Sponsors for FY 2015. Your first place of start is to find the H1B Sponsors in an area or by company. Use our H1B Visa Sponsors Database to search and filter. Read this article on details on how to search in our H1B Sponsor database. We keep the database updated as DOL publishes data. Do NOT share your email or phone number on our website as comments, there are many people do H1B Sponsorship fraud by requesting money using your contact info. RedBus2US.com never provides personal guidance on H1B sponsors or seeks money from anyone, we only display publicly available data on our H1B Sponsors Database page. We DO NOT sponsor H1Bs or guide anyone. Beware of H1B sponsorship Fraud !
What about Comprehensive Immigration Reform ( CIR) – H1B Visa Changes ? What are they ?
There have been some proposed changes to the H1B Visa program to cater to the demand in the US economy as part of the Comprehensive Immigration reform. Below are some of the proposed changes.
- 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
- Additional H1B rules to avoid H1B Visa fraud by employers
- Mandatory LCA posting for 30 days before it is certified.
These were proposed in 2013, but nothing has moved significantly and all the above are just proposed rules. We are not sure when they will be implemented. You can read Summary of CIR – Immigration reform – H1B Visa and Green Card to get an idea. The latest update is that Obama has taken executive action on Immigration in Nov 2014 and none of the below are included as part of that. Stay tuned for updates.
H1B Visa 2016 Fees – Any changes ? How much does it cost ?
There are various components of the fee. The H1B Application filing fee could range anywhere from $1,600 USD to $4,400 depending on the size of the company. The attorney fee can range from $500 to $3000 depending on the attorney. If you apply for premium processing that is another $1,225. The fees has not changed in the past couple of years for FY 2014 and FY 2015. Unless USCIS revises fee based on immigration reform, it should be same. We will keep you all posted. For complete details of the fee by components and break up, read the article H1B Visa Fees and Who Pays for What ?
H4 Visa EAD rule impact on H1B Visa 2016 Season ?
As you know, certain H4 visa holders are now eligible for EAD. The H4 Visa EAD Rule Passed earlier in 2015 and is effective from May 26, 2015. USCIS will start accepting applications for EAD from those eligible H4 visa holders starting from May 26th. The question is that will that have an impact on number of H1B petitions for this fiscal year ? It very likely will have certain impact on the number of H1B applications that are filed for this year 2016 quota. Many of the H4 holders, who would now be eligible for EAD, may not apply for H1B visa, just because it gives them more flexibility to work and more choices to work as well. We would have to wait and see, how much of an impact that would have, but it is very straightforward and no brainer for eligible H4 visa holder to avoid the H1B processing.
H1B visa Premium Processing Changes to H1B Visa 2016 quota ?
USCIS updated in their press release that the premium processing will be accepted for FY 2016 quota and they will only begin that “no later than May 11, 2015”. What it means for the petitioners is that the official 15 day premium processing clock starts from May 11th, 2015 and their petition could be adjudicated within 15 days from May 11th, which would be May 26th, 2015. USCIS can process them earlier as well, but their new timeline is just indication for setting the right expectations to meet the stipulated time frame for premium processing.
Track H1B Visa 2016 Cap Count updates ?
As in previous years, we have created a page, where would track the cap count updates for FY 2016. You may check out H1B visa 2016 Cap Count Tracker.
While you wait, you can check out April 1st – USCIS H1B Visa 2016 Season Starts Today, When to expect Lottery ?
H1B Lottery Completed – Official Tweet and Press Release
USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016 http://t.co/fQ6EPUb8Y4
— USCIS (@USCIS) April 13, 2015
H1B Cap Reached – Official USCIS Tweet and Link to Press release :
We have reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for FY 2016 http://t.co/RTja7POWYY — USCIS (@USCIS) April 7, 2015
Any other questions ?
Too bad that it will reach 100K only after the lottery has been conducted. By that time you will receive your rejection notice and as for the ones who get their H1b, they wouldn’t bother for next year. There is no use trying. Just give up.
Once it reaches 100k it will prove to be havoc for fake petitioners and consultancies.
We have to do it now to protect our future. Imagine whoever do not get h1b this time…this petition will help them next year.
Plz keep going, definately truth will win at End.
Plz sign petition.
Dont forget to share –> facebook, twitter, linkedin, G+, ETC.
Next year it will be same again. I am ready to bet on that.
Doesn’t matter….Nobody is buying your argument and sit idle.
It’s not about this year alone, it’s about speaking up against unethical and unfair actions. I’m sure if people who apply for H-1B in the coming up years will give a big thanks to all the people signing on this petition. If you didn’t file multiple fake petitions, you don’t need to say any word here to discourage people, you will thank us later. If you did something wrong, your words are consider voided.
@Proud Indian
I got my H1-B last year and I can understand your pain as I have been through this lottery process 2 times FY 13 and 14 and I did sign petition couple of days back.
@ Kumar
Your blog will be remembered as a blog which started a revolution to clean up h1b visa process.
The petition website says clearly that we can ask for support from anyone. So you guys, please ask your family and friends, who believe in fairness and ethics to stand up and fight against those people with multiple fake petitions. Stand up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now it is time to spread it to our families and friends and ask them to sign. It is clear support can be asked from anybody who believes in this petition.
Make it viral on facebook/twitter or any other medium.
When can we expect the lottery figures?
God I pray please please this time I should get the lottery.
I dont want to go back to India. I have loans to pay.
which god?
Always road of Truth is hard and will face many trouble.
But at End only Truth will Win.
C’mon guy keep sign petition.
Its already attracting local attorney and others.
Hope,its will be in MEDIA soon.
Yeah.. Lets grab all the attention.. just sign the petition..
FYI
One of my friend brother, working in local news channel in Texas.
He is also interesting in this petition, I am sending him info, lets see if He can help Us.
Stay Positive.
Yes man.. that would be a great help.. please do that…
which god?
Over 10k for the petition, only 20-30k more and we will have attention from the media.
Yes, Right Minh.
Plz keep going, definately truth will win at End.
You guys realize that a lot of comments are coming from those who got H-1B last year, right? They are here just to feast on our frustration.
Quite possibly true. They were supposed to release the numbers today as they did last year. Thats nowhere in sight and thats very scary. I am not getting a good feeling about this.
Yo fake McKain,
We know that you are fake.. y dont u move aside and drink some nigga piss..
If it gives me H1b then I will gladly drink it.
Sorry for causing inconvenience, my goal only honest people like me should get their H1B approved, no one else. I can do anything to get my H1B approved
I want my h1b. Give me my H1b. I want it. I want it. I wanttttt ittt!!!!
This guy went mad to get the H1B.
Friend let me call to USCIS and tell them to clear your petition. Please stay calm now so that we can discuss about other things.
Everyone stand up on the streets and shout out that we dont need multiple petitions sent to USCIS. Multiple petitions should be banned. Go out on the streets and shout now. Get as many people to sign as possible. Get the word out. I am getting a hard on. We wont have lottery then.
Someone is putting selfish comments on my name but dont stop yourself from signing the petition. Post it on facebook, twitter and spread the news. Deserving people like me only should get the h1b visa. No one else deserves it.
Sign the petition now. We are so close to 10000 signatures. Please this is to make sure deserving and honest people like me only get the h1b visa. Rest all are cheaters and frauds. No lottery for me if you sign it. Please do it now.
I have signed it. I r honest even I am . Everyone who is honest will get it. Come on lets sign
…good going McKain
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM COMMENTING ON THIS THREAD UNTIL MONDAY. ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND 🙂
It is offensive to call native Americans, that.
Hey.. somebody is using my name and putting selfish comments.. Alright fellows, I’ll just stay calm.. I pray for all the deserved ones here.. all the best guys..
Go and hover again on “Learn about petition threshold”. It says ‘it is up to the petitioner to gain support”, so nothing wrong in asking more and more people to sign.
Coming to multiple signs, I bet out of 10,000 only handful may be duplicate.
That can be easily tracked by checking the ip addresses, which US govt is very capable of doing.
Happened to me too. 🙁
I want my H1b Now!!! I demand it!
There is no authentication as many frauds are signing many times like many employee with many petition same way one person is signing many times.
I am creating one more page against it and show to white house about this fake signatures.
Share every one the link in few minutes.
You are lowering the relevance of all other petitions by doing this, in the same way you are lowering the average IQ of this chat room here.
This is the first sensible comment from you…
Please do. As it reduces their effort in catching at least one fake applicant when u do that
I think only I deserve H-1B this year.
Hey.. somebody is using my name here.. Alright fellows, I’ll just stay calm.. I pray for all the deserved ones here.. all the best guys..
Which god to pray?
no results yet but i did notice USCIS post other tweets on twitter till like 20 minutes back, so maybe its not too late yet.
Expect them to post until 9 pm EST
h1bslaughteragain , I have seen you post since the few days. You don’t deserve h1b.
Hey H1bslaughteragain,
It was someone else who used my name and said you dont deserve H1B. I dont judge anyone.. I’m just asking the people be honest..
Click it… Sign it… Now is the time… Come on guys… sign the petition.. ask your friends to sign it.. Lets help ourselves and help the honest.. just keep going…
The explanation in the petition does not say multiple applications are from different employers(consulting firms) and the employee pays to the consulting firms for these applications.
Multiple applications from same employer are being scrutinized and USCIS might think they are already taking care of this issue.
Come on guys.. Its close to 10000.. I believe that we still have 2 more days to raise our concern… Sign the petition and make it viral in ur networks.. push hard man.. Got to do what we got to do.. dont give up..
stay calm and sign the petition.. dont listen to others’ comments…
That petition is utterly meaningless. From US standpoint it doesn’t matter they still issue 85k visas. General populous doesn’t care about foreign workers. All it will do is invoke a response, not necessarily a positive one.
Good copy & paste work Anusha.. But i already responded to your previous comment
I haven’t done this. Someone else did.
And FYI, the H4 EAD rule was initiated through this whitehouse petitions. And now it is made into law. So who knows whats going to happen with this H1B petition??
Mc Kain
Please stop this shit, nothing is going to change. you are a looser
The petition that McKain created or made famous has gained close to 10k votes. Just to put it in context H4 EAD had less than 7k votes and there was an action by govt ti give h4 dependent work authority. Just a thought does the petition has something to do with the delay.
Just go to the petition site and hover your mouse over “Learn About Petition Thresholds”.
They say if a petition reaches 150 votes then it becomes searchable by white house administration.
Somebody even posted this link on official uscis website and I am sure many decision makers might have already taken notice of this petition.
Tell me if you have authority will you not call your team to at least look at the allegations made and take some action.
It is true.
That petition is utterly meaningless. From US standpoint it doesn’t matter they still issue 85k visas. General populous doesn’t care about foreign workers. All it will do is invoke a response, not necessarily a positive one.
Nobody is asking for a reform here.. All we want is a fair lottery process..
What’s in it for them? Making it fair will only cost them more work-hours.
@ Anusha
US govt will sure not like any illegal activity especially related to immigration, which is a hot topic now.
If govt is indifferent to this issue then Republican will jump at this opportunity to push them in the corner.
Issue is not multiple petitions but paying money for filing h1bs against non existing jobs.
Last Year 2015
redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2015/
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.
Check uscis they announced on 10th April not 11th
@bad luck,
don;t worry man i didn’t applied through black listed company, so take a tension about your petition, Mine is fine i will definitely get selected and will share my app no also here after that
Experts,
I am planning to apply for H1B next year. Need some advise on how to improve my chances in the lottery.
1. If I apply from any other country like Canada or Mexico will it improve my chances.
2. Is there any priority given if applicant is married? If so I will try to get married this year before applying.
3. How about kids?
4. Do they give preference if medium of education is non english? To promote other languages in USA.
5. I scored 1st division through out my eduction will this have any additional value?
6. Do they look at the photo in the application and based on how you look they give some points?
Please share any other criteria which improves the chances.
Friends..its definitely not today…will be another long and tensed week end. Best of luck to everyone!!!
If not today then we should be ready for some stern steps taken by the govt.
@MK,
Man you are 100 % right, the same thing happened with my friend too last year he lost 9000 USD last year and also he was not that rich, he spend his 3 year salary saving,
@ABUJABAR,
and also if a person who is getting a paid sponsorship is also bearing a big risk in his mind, And man believe me person who has that courage to take that risk will never get failed in life, Because if some one if applying 4 petitions he is spending a near about 12-15K dollars and also he know giving money for visa is illegal and he can’t do anything if sponsoring company denied to sponsor him or to refund his money
Below are my thoughts after H1B Lottery
If H1B Picked
Update profile in BharatMatrimony
Else
Update profile in online dating sites
What do you guys do?
Iam currently in US on L1 and applied for H1B this year. Incase if my petition has been approved this time can I visit Canada for H1B stamping or do I need to get the stamping done only in my native country? Please advise?
Canada should be good. Visa is s piece of document to say that you are entering the country legally – Doesn matter where you get it stamped from
Seems no update today on no of applications received for this year.
It means more petitions than the last time.
While u may be right but for lottery is an automated process number of app only matter during data entry which may take a while but lottery and number of applications should have been announced by now
Doesn’t really matter if the application is more or less. It’s a barcode scanning process and lottery takes maximum of 15 mins
While the number of applications may be one reason for delay. But they do the data entry after the lottery and not before, like last year they finished data entry on may 5th and then started returning applications(as per their twitter update last year on may 5). So the reason for delay maynotbe due to total number of applications.
Now I was thinking about this: Is this the USCIS who has cashed your employer’s check or it is your employer who has chased your personal check? I believe it must be the latter. If it was the USCIS, you already must have had your application number as it gets printed out on the back of you check when USCIS chases it out.
Last Year
redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2015/
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.
Please follow USCIS website, try using filter with April as month and year as 2014. You will find news has been released on 10th April, 2014.
The above note is for the 2015 not for the 2014 🙂
Please check – redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2015/
Lol…. sorry dude….
@Four Apps,
don’t worry you definitely get selected, and also same question do you have 4 different LCA number for your 4 petitions ???
I have applied from four different consulting companies and four different end clients.
@May not be the case,
i am sure you didn’t applied through 4 companies last year have you got the lca number for all 4 petitions ????, may be your stuck somewhere in the middle of fake agencies last year who took money from person to sponsor the visa and they don’t even they don’t refund the amount, i know 5 people who applied 2 or more than 2 files last year and now they all are in US,
Congratulations. You have 2 H1b already. No need to wait for other petitions.
Guys don’t worry if anyone applied multiple application, some people are just trying to scare another people who somehow managed to find only one and one sponsor only due to their skills, if we have filled through multiple sponsors that means we have more chance than them to get selected and i wanna see all the comments from the that person who are spreading a rumor here after a result ,
Guys just chill and celebrate any one who applied 4 application i can bet he will definitely get selected
I applied 4 application last year. None of them got selected.
This year I am doing 6. Had to sell my house in India this time.
You are scaring me. I have put in 4 applications this time.
USCIS is cracking down fake applications. If the consulting firms you applying through are on the blacklist that will be too bad. Feel for you bro but bad luck
What if USCIS announces that they received only 85000 application?
Dream come true!
@h1b2222,
yes sure you are free to do that they will ask your details your passport number any attorney and company name and they will deduct your name from the lott ery even if you are already selected, go ahead do this 🙂
Guys,
lottery has been finished now and we can get the update anytime by EOD, But it’s sure they will announce that soon maximum in 2 hour
how do you know and if you know whats the count?
Guys,
i have confirmed again with attorney multiple filling are allowed and genuine this year too, so people who filled multiple applications don’t take any stupid step like to call uscis or any other think, ofcourse we do have a big chances to get selected in lottery and people who are felling jealous from us because we filled multiple applications then i will say to them if you think you have very good skills then why you filled only one application???
People who did not apply for multiple appls please call USCIS and ask them “should my multiple fake appls be approved??”
Just do it.
Am I jealous if people filed multiple applications get selected for multiple times and take other people’s spots? Sure yeah.
Am I good enough to find multiple genuine sponsors? I’ll never know. As soon as I decided to sign on my current employer’s offer letter, I terminated all the other interviews in process/offers under negotiation.
Per I know for someone who has an advanced STEM degree from a prestigious US universities (not me :/), it’s not rare to get multiple offers. I know very few of them had problem finding more than one sponsors, and most of them have big name offers (Google, Apple, Microsoft at the same time), and none of them filed through multiple employers. Filing multiple petitions through different employers aren’t against immigration law but signing on multiple offer letters kinda against contract law. I’m not an attorney but I believe companies’ legal departments will take care of it.
I am meeting Obama to explain current situation. Any one interested, come to white house on Monday.
We have meeting with his gradpa… you go ahead..
Guys, last year they announced at 2:00PM EST about number of applications. If it does not come soon then something is definitely going on. Number of application and lottery can happen within minutes as random numbers can be selected from a set in seconds. I don’t know I multiple applications or some other reason. But I believe there is something.
hope something happened. All fake petitions can be filtered out by Passport Number. And next year, some Indian will use Multiple fake Passport Number. Crazy some Indian people~
Apparently being a racist is totally acceptable.
Can you distinguish between racism and fact?
Yes with pleasure.
Fact: Some Indians (and other nationals) submit face petitions.
Racism: Calling out a whole nationality i.e. Indian (~1.2 billion folks) in the same light.
Hope this helps.
@ Anusha
Did you mean face or fake? Please check spelling mistakes and grammar while you post.
could it not be the simple fact that application count is a lot higher and hence the processing overload.
Hey guys came to know about the formula which govt is using to run the lottery. This will answer all the questions.
1. Specify decision variables:
xi Number of the existing petitions received each day i; i = 1, 2,…,7
2. Establish objective function:
Z Cost of petition management ( $ per week)
3. Constraints:
di Petition demand or number of multiple petition in each day i ;
i = 1,2,…,7
k Total number of existing petition
4. Coefficients of decision variables:
a Fast cleaning cost (Petition/piece)
b Normal cleaning cost (Petition/piece)
c Petition price (Petiiton/piece)
Model of integer linear programming, as shown below, was generated by the network flow diagram and all gathered data which was specified the existing petitions as 500 pieces.
f(x) = x^2\,\! f(x) = x^2\,\! {{math|”f”(x) {{=}} x2}} f(x) = x2
This looks like the German formula used to invade Poland.
Ha ha ha ha ha … that was funny!! 😀
Not sure about that formula but this one can be optimized if it is done using predictive machine learning algorithms.
How about USCIS’s random loto algorithm?
@Ban da fur
I can comment if you can post the mathematical equations of the algorithm. Do they apply probability theory in lotto algorithm?
Wow…seems “legit” !!
I would say, if everybody files only one petition, then there would be no lottery at all. So you guys who file multiple petitions have created this game and that is why you are suffering from it. Other innocent people have to play with you. Please stop it for your own good.
exactly! withdraw your applications now and you can save some money. call uscis now, for folks who filed multiple applications.
Nice joke.
What? No, you have got it wrong. It’s the lottery that gave birth to the multiple-petition epidemic, not the other way round.
Stop TCS, Infosys and wipro guys to apply thousands of applications. I know many people in TCS, got H1B’s approved last year and till now they didn’t came to USA. These companies should be banned to apply H1B’s and infosys paid 3 millions fine last year for misusing the quota. They are the main Culprits for this situation.