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 ?
Hi Redbus community please need some guidance.
I got following message on USICS case status page after My attorny submitted the RFE response.
On September 26, 2015, we received your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Receipt Number WAC151495***, and emailed you a receipt notice. It is being processed at our California Service Center location. The notice describes how we will process your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, go to uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.
I want to know if the status will change to “RFE response was received” after they start processing?
Hi All,
First of all thank you very much to everyone and redbus to keep updating whats going on in the world of H1B 🙂
Finally after 8-10 months of long wait the process came to an end. This morning came with the surprise, finally my case got approved today. Below is the case history that might help others.
Receipt Number: WAC15147XXXXX (Non-AD, RP -> PP)
Receipt received on: 4th May, 2015 (which has date 13th April, 2015)
RFE status changed online: 8th Sept, 2015 for employer-employee relationship and latest pay stubs
RFE hard copy received on: 11th Sept, 2015
RFE response sent on with request for Premium processing: 22nd Sept, 2015
Online status chaged on: 28th Sept, 2015 saying “WE have received your request for PP on 25th Sept, 2015”.
Case approved on: 29th Sept, 2015.
Congrats !!
Can u pls tell us ..What are documents submitted for your RFE.
Congrats KK. One info you definitely helped this blog with is RP–>PP conversion process. Now people have much more clarity on how this works.
Hey buddy, thanks… now thinking of resignation process ;0 as for my it was L1 to H1 change of status. New roller coaster ride started..
can you please tell me what pay stubs did they ask for ?
where you on F1 ?
Hi, we submitted the pay stub till Feb, 14 only.. They looks like USCIS wanted to have pay stub for March and April 14 also. We submitted that and it was approved.
Hi All,
Finally i got approved today.
RFE on Aug 28th
RFE received on Sep 15th
Approved om Sep 29th
Cheers !
Hi there,
I got RFE on Jul 8th and my employer send the required documents in Sep 1st week. Still the status is showing ‘Request for Additional Evidence Was Mailed’ in USCIS website. Is anyone in the similar situation? If yes, can we do something to figure out the actual status?
My RFE response was sent on Sept 22nd ,but the status dint change yet to response recieved. .think we just have to wait.
Thanks Vaish. Yeah looks like just waiting but I am not sure if my employer , small IT consultancy firm, actually responded to RFE. He didn’t provide any kind of tracking numbers/emails to me to know if RFE response is received by USCIS
Mine got changed to response recieved today.so be pls be patient.
Anyone from Gemini IT got RFE or Approved ? Few days back lot of people from Gemini reported they are all in received status ( me in the same boat ) ?
Any progress / update from the consultancy ?
Did u talk to your employer and try to upgrade to premium ?
@H1B….not yet , are you from same consultancy ?
No .. I am not from Gemini.. !
HI, Me also in the same boat.. Still in received
+1, from Gemini….still in received status
April 13th Received till yesterday ! Today Sept 29th RFE …
You rcvd RFE few hours back ?
Yep I guess so when I saw today morning it was case received n now its RFE …EAC15148*****
please upgrade your case from RP to PP… otherwise it may take 3- 4 months for another update
Anyone here ….submitted RFE response on June month and still waiting for approval ?
Series:EAC1514***
is this regular or premium processing?
Regular Processing….
For me it just took one week to approve after submitting rfe response. Its RP and WAC** series
Hi venkat,
Congratulations !!
What are documents submitted for your RFE ?
Hello Everyone , my status is case recieved till now , when i asked my employer he told me that he has already raised a ticket with USCIS couple of days back.
can anyone throw some light on what is meant by raising a ticket and how does it work ?
Raising a ticket does not help much. it does not expedite the process. Usually if USCIS fails to response within deadline , they can respond to the ticket by saying what caused the delay .
At the same time , it does not harm anything either. So you can wait to hear the response from USCIS.
Folks,
I thought of updating here as today my case moved from Case received to RFE ! I am relieved there is atleast some movement ! Thinking of upgrading the RFE response to Premium instead of waiting for 3-4 or even more months for an answer ! Thanks !!
My receipt no. Is EAC15149*****
Hi , my status is case recieved till now , when i asked my employer he told me that he has already raised a ticket with USCIS couple of days back.
can anyone throw some light on what is meant by raising a ticket and how does it work ?
my visa expired as i got it for one year. If we go for second time PA. what we hv to tell for ” Why you didn’t travel last time ” ?
Hi,
After long wait today i got Denied after RFE and submitted all the documents SOW, Client letter everything. I not sure the reason for Denial.
Center WAC
Regular Processing
RFE Submitted : July 31st
Case Approved : Sep 25th, but got the status reflected on Sep 28th
Its a WAC!
All the very best for all who are waiting for their RFE approvals. Its on the way!
Congrats!!!
Do you mean that, your status was in RFE received state till 28th Sept. and has been updated to Approved?
Hi,
After one year wait mine got denied after RFE and submitted all the documents SOW, Client letter and Manager letter, etc., . I dont know the reason.
Center : WAC…
Regular Processing
so was your name picked up in lottery last year?
On September 22, 2015, we received your response to our Request for Evidence for your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Our Vermont Service Center office will begin working on your case again. We will mail you a decision or notify you if we need something from you.
Above is the status of mine case on uscis site.I don’t know when its changed as i checked the status after 12 days.
Finally Approved!!! Regular Processing
1.June 30 RFE received
2. September 18th RFE responded
3. September 25th Approved
Congratulations bro, Is it WAC/RP?
Thank you KK. Yes its WAC
Finally saw the golden words…My case was approved..WAC151445*
Rfe recieved date: jun 3
Rfe response sent: jul28
Approved : Sep28
Submitted SOW valid till Dec312015 and Manager letter..
Thanks a lot Chilakur balaji God..
Thanks for this website..has been following last two months and very helpful.
All the best who all are waiting for approvals..Surely every one will get..
Congratulations
Got RFE on Jun24th and my employer send the required documents on Sep 1st week. Still the status showing ‘Request for Additional Evidence Was Mailed’. RFE time line is 90 days only.
Anyone had similar case ?
It took 14 days for my case to get changed from *RFE Mailed* to *Rfe received*. Their online system is not 100%. It will update soon for you as well.
Good luck
My employer replied on 25th sept(friday) and status reflected on 29th sept(Tuesday).
Congrats guys who have got approval. Anyone form TCS who got approval after RFE ?
Nope. I am still waiting… Since we are not shared with Petition/case number. We left with no clue until we got an update from VISA cell.
Right…We have no ways to track our status untill we recieve email form visa cell. And visa cell mostly does not send updates on time.They take their own time.
Finally, Visa got Approved
RFE date – July 16th
Response submitted – Sep 16th
Response Received – Sep 18th
Approved on Sep 25th
have u going with PP or Regular?
have u going with PP or Regular?
Regular only..WAC1514650*** series
Hi All,
Its finally my turn to update the status here on my RFE. It took exactly 3 months to pass thus RFE hurdle. I know the frustration you are going through for all these days. please be patient and the good will happen. Below provided the details of my case.
Non-AD/Regular Process/Vermont Center-EAC151435****
Case Received: Apr 13
Case went to RFE: Jun 26
Employer Received the RFE: Aug 8th
Employer Responded to RFE: Sep 2nd
RFE recevied by USCIS: Sep 4
RFE Approveed : Sep 28th
RFE Docs: SOW, Org Chart, Project Assessment description, Job details, Job Role
It got delayed from my employer to respond
What i observed is RFEs are getting response from Sep much faster and getting approval withing almost 20 days in Regular processing. It is approved much faster to my colleagues like in 12,15 days
All the best for others
Hi MANr,
I am having the approximately the same dates as u had until rfe responded by emoloyer, but haven’t seen any update from uscis in response received though … Did u have similar situation or ur case was updated on uscis site on time? Please advise
It got reflected properly in my case . It just updated in 2 days to rfe received after respond from case manager. Rfe responded from US itself.
Good to hear, cheers !
Congratulations!!
My RFE is on education evaluation. B Com vs computer programmer.
They are asking for progressive experience letters from previous companies. Anyone had similar case ?
Yes i received these queries as a part of my RFE. Mine is B.tech ECE and earlier had 3times h1b approvals(first, transfer and extension), don’t know why they asked these two things again, asked to show how this specialty occupation is matching to the degree submitted…….1. Education Evaluation
2. Evidence of Expertise
3. Right to Contorl
4. Project details
Are these are common RFE’s? please respond
My employer informed that these RFE’s are mostly boiler plate templates. Nothing to worry if you submit Progressive experience credential evaluation
Did anyone apply through Pathmaker consultancy, Texas
Hi All,
Just sharing updates from my side for the people who upgraded their case to PP. I received RFE on 8th Sept, and responded to RFE with request for PP on 22th Sept.
Today the status got changed to “Request For Premium Processing Services Was Received”.
I hope this will help few of you.
——————————————————————————–
On September 25, 2015, we received your request for premium-processing of your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Receipt Number WAC15147XXXXX, and mailed you a receipt notice. Your premium-processing receipt notice contains contact information for direct inquiries on your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you move, contact the premium-processing unit directly to update your address.
—————————————————————————-
Since I never had this status on my case status, so mine got definitely approved in normal course. Thats one damn big problem with these big companies, they have a separate department and that too it would be a US 3rd party and getting proper info from these people is such a big task and on top of that you cant question them. This info definitely helps many folks KK.
Hi All “Case Received”,
WAC15145*****
In the USCIS web site my case status is still showing as “Case Was Received “. But today i received a hard copy of the RFE. The hard copy shows the date as SEP-14.
So even if its not updated in site, there is something going on the cases that are in the initial stage.
Hi MK , did your employer got the RFE hard copy and sent it to you or you directly got RFE hard copy from USCIS?
just wanted to know the flow.
My employer got the hard copy and shared it with me.
Thanks for the update. This is very strange . This means we cannot even trust the online case status anymore.
Yes it is happened with my case as well. In USCIS site it is showing the status as ‘Case received’ where as when I checked with my employer, he told he received the RFE last Friday. So it is better to be in touch with your employer for the latest updates.
Mohan, I was about to update the same today. Did not know MK is u….
I am with same status.Received RFE copy but still status is Case Received in USCIS website.
Hi All,
Is a hardcopy of approval notice needed while stamping?
Thanks !!
Yes
Its safe to have the original hard copy.
For me, no documents were asked apart from passport(s).
CSC : California Service Center
Do you think I selected in lottery? We called USCIS they told that they have not received our info in their database. They told that it may be pending from CSC due to work load.
I wonder why your employer not calling USCIS. Seems like you selected in the lottery!
Kumar,
Can you please tell me if there is any link for amending procedure? If not could you please give an overview in terms of what needs to be changed , how long will it take , is it done before stamping or after ? When is LCA change required?
NRS, Amending depends on the kind of change that has happend to the current H1B role or duties. LCA Change is typically required when the location of the job changes. This year, there were some changes passed around this, Check the official H1B Amendement USCIS Guidance 2015
My case status is still “Request for Evidence Recieved”.
Generally, all the cases will be approved on or before sep 30th.
Is the same case this time? Or is USCIS will be approving in Oct also?
Is there any announcement from USCIS that they would not be able to approve all the H1b cases before Sep 30 and they would approve them in X days?
Thanks,
Hasheem.
i also have loc and Client change amendment + cap exemptn. filed on jul 02. Still no response. Are we having any deadline to process .. i mean after sept will it process any case ? # EAC15196*****
Normally what you said is correct but there is no timeline for regular processing. This time due to EAD (I heard 1.5 lakh applications) it got dragged till now.
Hello Guys,
My status is still case received from April 13th. Still how many in the same situation. Lets see the count if you don’t mind.
+1 WAC
same here case received since apr 13th.. wac151385xxxx series.
Mine as well , EAC1514****** series.
I came to know that the number near me are approved and a few are in RFE status as well.
Not sure how long I should wait , almost 5 months wait already done.
+WAC1514******
+EAC15143*****
+1 EAC15142***** series
+1 WAC15147XXXXX
same status
+1 WAC……
same status and series as well
WAC15147*****
Kumar/Folks
I am working for an MNC now. I applied thru a company from US and it is approved now.
My question is should I resign before going to stamping?
Can I go to stamping without resigning, If so what should I tell the VO in case they ask?
No need to Resign. Once the Stamping done .. Your employer will inform you when to resign. Until you get the solid notification about ur requirement at US ,, don’t resign..
No need to resign before stamping. Well, all you have to tell is why you are looking at this new job in US.
Thanks for the update Kumar/H1BAspirant_2016_GM.
Hi Friends ,
I have received I797 , its shows that visa approved for 1 year , is it any issue for future.
Congrats, No not an issue. Once you travel you can extend your validity. Can you tell from which company you were raised by ?
I received RFE notice on 18th September. But my case status is still showing “Case is received” in USCIS website. Anyone with same status?
Any one applied from ConsultAdd INC ????
yes..
I have got RFE .. Did your application approved?…plz share the details?
RFE only..August end
Thanks for the response..can we talk off line..send your contact number to nareshkumarbachu at gmail dot com ..i will call you up..
Hi,
I am in cap exempt quota.. Filed for change of employer. starting with EAC1516****** series . my case is still received as of May 19th. So anybody in the same series and waiting ? it has been 132 days .. its so ridiculous and frustrating.
I have applied for cap exemp + amend on Jul 02.. still waiting EAC15196****
Hi Any one filed H1B through Advansoft …received RFE… 🙁
Hi, me from same consultant , still in case received status. Share ur mail I’d will discuss.
Hi is this company located in hyderabad and ceo is anil sunkara?
yes, same one .. this is my mail id yadhav.girish30 at gmail … contact me so that we can co-ordinate on some issues
Hi,
Applied thru advanspft!
Will drop you an email.
Hi,
Applied thru advansoft!
Will drop you an email.
ABOUT 2% OF THE H1B CASES ARE BEING DENIED AS PER MY ANALYSIS.
Hi Buddy,
Any of your friends got denied ? If so on what reason they were denied ?
No, my known persons h1’s are approved, mine is in rfe…..checked like 500 cases in sequence and saw about 2% cases are in denied state, don’t know the reason.
I am slso heard same % from company immigration team.
Do you know approval rate for RFE?
Hi,
my case was approved on Sep 18th.. now, i need to book slot for visa stamping..
but i have a question,,,
I am going to marry on Oct 22nd.. can i initiate dependent visa process after marriage & go for stamping or i can go now & get the dependent visa stamping later.. which one is should be best..
also, my onsite position may be will get ready by Dec mid..
Either should be fine. If you are in no hurry, get married first and initiate H4 and go along with your spouse for visa stamping with all the necessary documents ( marriage certificate , couple of photographs of wedding). All the very Best.
Hi All,
I received RFE on 2nd September asking to provide education evaluation, evidence of expertise in speciality occupation, employee employer relationship, Documents showing proff for in house project…….It’s a 9 page rfe and any received all these requests in a rfe and have you submitted and what is the status.Please REPLY
Hello All,
I have changed my address and want to request that change to USCIS , my petition is still in case was recieved status.
Do I need to do this or my employer?
Thanks for the help.
yes you need to report to your employer / attorney and they will take care of it…
Hi All,
After being on “Case Received” since April 13th, I got this today:
“Notice Explaining USCIS’ Actions Was Mailed
On September 25, 2015, we began reviewing your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Receipt Number EAC1514******. We mailed you a notice informing you of the action we intend to take on your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice and submit any requested materials. If you do not receive your notice by October 9, 2015, please call Customer Service at **********. If you move, go to ////////////////////// to give us your new mailing address.”
What does this mean? Most likely an NOID or an RFE right? Did anyone else get this? What does the USCIS mail say/ask for from applicant in such cases?
One of my friend received it.. the same status and its a denial. I am not saying its confirmed denial but I am saying one of my friend recieved it… hope its not denial.. 🙂
Hey binoy,
i ask saw few discussion on this ” Notice Explaining USCIS’ Actions Was Mailed “, on other forums its kind of mandatory documents required to submit to Uscis. however it depends on case to case.
Few applications are asked to submit their finger prints ( who are in usa under dependent visa), few applications are asked to submit some mandatory documents. few applications are direct refusals ( due to wrong/fake/fraud).
So i believe be confidence untill you get the documents and take steps accordingly. if you applied from desi consultancies ask your consultancy do any other person got the same and what actions took for them.
hope this is informative . thank you.
Thanks for the positive words. Keeping my fingers crossed. Will have to find out from lawyer what the document they sent out says.
I hope it’s just additional documentation.
Binoy,
Can you tell from which company you raised your h1b ?
Cavalier IT Inc. They are US-based, run by desis. They are a company of 500+ consultants, about a 70 staff, legit and been around for a while now.
My passport was only valid till August 15th when I applied, I think(and hope) that might be a reason for this. I renewed it, and I have a new passport now.
sounds logical Binoy , Hope you can reopen your case by filing MTR , however am not sure on this.
Binoy,
Yep that should be the reason. All the best buddy !!
@Binoy …. I am not sure how your attorney accepted to file your case with passport validity till Aug 15th. He should have told you that passport should be valid atleast till Oct 2015. That is what my employer told me when I sent documents. But even in that case USCIS should have put a query and asked for new passort if any. However, I also feel that it could be reason for denial in which case you would be lucky since you know the reason and you have a solution for that and as someone above said, may be you can re-open the case and provide the new passport…once you have the mail from USCIS I think things will be clear.
But since you said the consultancy is a legitimate one, hope that passport is the reason for denial.
And again, this status which you are seeing in USCIS site can mean different for different people but yeah, I have seen few cases where this status meant denial as well.
Denial
Binoy , company which filed your h1b was indian consultancy or US one?
Hi ! It is based in the US. Cavalier IT Inc.
Hi Binoy,
I am in same boat as you are. Same Status. By Oct 1 my employer should recieve the notice from USCIS. I am hoping it should be Some mandatory documents related. FIngers Crossed.
Hi Binoy,
Did you got any reply or any info from your employer?
Guys , can you help me here.
My status is “case was recieved” since april 13 , 2015 … EAC********
I asked my employer and he told me that he will raise ticket , so nothing to worry.
But I wanted to know how can i follow up from my end with USCIS.
Am a bit confused and worried as wait time is a bit long now.
Please suggest.
Thanks in advance.
Amit, by any chance, are you from Gemini?
No.
Yep! I’m from Gemini and my case status is still showing “Case was received”.
Don’t worry bro
I dont really think raising a ticket would expedite things…only upgrading to premium process and make things move fast.
I know how difficult it would be to check every day and see the status as ‘case received’ (Mine got approved on Sep 25th and till then it was ‘case received’) …. but only thing I can say out of my experience is that ..’Dont worry’
Thanks Sun197895 , your suggestion gave me a bit of relief.
Anything else I can do from my end apart from waiting and upgrading to PP?
Anyone else on the same boat as me?
Appreciate all guys over here for sharing your thoughts, experiences and suggestions.
I am too waiting from april 13th. same status still “case was received”
hey amit, i was also tired of same thing, so upgraded to pp and now it is in rfe. so what i can say is that if you are not in hurry then wait else upgrade to pp , apart from this there is nothing either you r attorney can do about it. thanks
Hello Yes , on what date you upgraded to PP and on what date you got RFE , please let us know.
Though am not in a hurry , I am worried that if it gets delayed is there any impact on approval and stamping etc.
Don’t worry Amit. Be patient. Yours will be approved very soon. Mine also it took almost 5 months to get approved. Cheers!
Thanks Bro , Lets Hope for the best.
Were you also in EAC14***** series?
hey amit, i upgraded to pp on 11 sep and on 23 sep i got rfe. my employer yet to respond back to rfe. hope this helps you. with regular processing i have seen some of my colleagues’ cases have been dragged till jan-feb because of rfe and then respond to rfe. all the best to all of us.
Hi All,
I got that weird new status today after being on CASE RECEIVED status since April 13th until yesterday.
Last night, the status changed to:
” Notice Explaining USCIS’ Actions Was Mailed
On September 25, 2015, we began reviewing your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Receipt Number EAC15142XXXXX. We mailed you a notice informing you of the action we intend to take on your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice and submit any requested materials. If you do not receive your notice by October 9, 2015, please call Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283. If you move, go to www.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.”
Now, this is most likely an NOID or in a smaller number of cases, an RFE. IDK what they are asking for.
I posted here several months ago, about my 3rd application to the USCIS finally getting picked up in that infamous lottery or the fancy “random selection” that people like to call it. I’m thankful for all the support and good wishes. I hope this last mountain is climbable as well. Thank You Guys.!! Ill keep you posted. Please keep posting and update me about your case if you had a similar status (I’m looking for what kind of documents they want). Thank you in advance, again.
Hi,
I got RFE on 26th June, Few days back my Employer responded to RFE.
My question is RFE response is an Hard Copy or Soft Copy.?
Hard copy
Any h1b denials so far ??
RFE approved on this week. Got mail from visa cell.
note: didn’t submit client letters and sow
Congrats !!
When ur RFE response submitted?
Thanks, aug 2nd.Yet to receive a hard copy.
Congrats..
How did you come to know that your RFE was responded in august 2nd week?
Was your RFE about employer-employee relationship?
As per visa cell. they have sent to us team on July 31.So, I have told approximately August 2nd.My due date was Aug 7.Thanks everone!
congrats 🙂 My RFE response was filed on 28th july , yet to get an response 🙁
Congrats.. Did you got Petition or case number for your reference?..
Yet to receive the documents. Got an email from US Visa team
Anyone here ….submitted RFE response on June month and still waiting for approval ?
Series:EAC1514*
Hi,
Yup..submitted response on june 30th..
Ok…I am also from CTS..:-)
For u what RFE docs submitted?
For me only manager letter….
Same documents for my rfe… submitted on july1st
Hi..Any update on ur case ?
No update on my case… 🙁
What RFE docs submitted for you ?
Hello guys,
I got RFE on 24th June and my last date for Submitting RFE documents was 16th Sep. As per visa cell department, they have already sent the documents last month (Aug), but still my status on website is showing as “Request for Additional Evidence Was Mailed” .
My Receipt Number WAC15145*****.
Anybody else in the same boat?
Yes, same here… I got a REF on 19th June and last date to submit is 17th Sep. my employer submitted requested document on 1st of Sep and my status changed (to REF documents received ) on 25th Sep (almost 3 weeks of REF document submission).
After this, hope we have to wait minimum 2 months to change the status.
Hi Anil,
At least your status has updated to “documents received”. For me it is still showing as “Request for Additional Evidence Was Mailed” 🙁
Don’t know whether my visa cell department is lying to me or USCIS is really slow to update the status on web even after a month.
Hi Sobit and All ,
I have seen the status update is not that regular than actual processing. I have seen delays in these activities, so dont be afraid 🙂 Be positive
Kuna
September 4, 2015, Response To USCIS’ Request For Evidence Was Received. I do not see any progress on this case.
May i know how long does it take to change case status info..
thank you
Looks like the statistics is minimum 2 months from changing REF received to final approval/denial. in you case, you can check the status only on 1st of Nov.. not before that…
HI,
At last my case got Approved.
April 13: Case Received
Aug 24th : RFE
Sep 8th : RFE Reponse received
Sep 22 : Approved
WAC151405****
Thanks
First of all congrats.
can you please tell me what the RFE was about and what documents your employer provided USCIS
Congrats..
Did you upgrade to PP while responding to RFE?