Home » US Immigration - Visas » H1B Visa » H1B Visa 2016 – FAQs – Lottery, Quota, Immigration Reform, News

H1B Visa 2016 – FAQs – Lottery, Quota, Immigration Reform, News

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 

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 

H1B Cap Reached – Official USCIS Tweet and Link to Press release :


Any other questions ?

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.

   

Other Articles

28,610 Comments

  1. Hello All,

    I am AD/PP/CSC and my second try. Was in CPT for the past one year and it was a pain in the ass. Lost hopes for this year too and was completely stressed out a few days ago. Used to visit this blog thousand times a day to get some hope and stress myself even more until I heard abt. the earthquake in Nepal where my family is suffering for the past few days. This made me rethink and my viewpoint has changed slightly. Bottomline, there are many more important things in life than stressing yourself over this stupid h1b. Some things are beyond our control so take a chill pill and go with the flow. Think about what you really want from life and focus your energy in that instead.

    H1b is not the end, nor does it define how successful you are as a person. Wish you all the best! Next year you will have one less person to compete with as I will not be wasting another year of my life trying for h1b. Instead will focus my energy on what I think will bring me happiness and certainly an h1b is not at the top in that list.

    Cheers!

    Reply
  2. Hello Fellas,
    I have my h1b approved in 2009 and i worked there for 1 year from 2010 till 2011 and returned. my h1b was valid till 2013. Now i want to go usa with job, so have two options either to go with old one(as still i have 5 years to be used) under cap exmption or new h1b. So i went with new h1b and so far i have not heard anything from my employer.mine is under non-AD, Regular processing. Still any chances?

    Reply
  3. 3 employers filled my h1 this year, hcl and other two staffing firms,all three provided me the courier tracking number, files are delivered but need to see my luck in lottery. I keep seeing many people files are not even delivered to uscis.i am bach rp/pp guy.if I didnt receive by may 1st week, its time to get married then.

    Reply
  4. Hi all, mine is NON AD/RP/VT, yesterday I checked with my employer, they confirmed check has not been encashed yet. Any idea if there is any hope?
    As per my idea, check gets encashed at least a week before somebody gets receipt, in my case it’s not have been so i cannot expect receipt till next week, after that there is hardly any chance. 🙁 🙁
    Any options are welcome.

    Reply
  5. Waiting for the receipts to start for non AD, RP. Most of the Indian IT companies are yet to start getting their receipts but expecting huge H1B slaughter this time with the possibility of some major IT companies being completely ignored .
    You can expect the receipts/news of rejection by May end . Though the receipts would end by May , the rejection letters will continue till July-Aug .

    Reply
    • From where did you get this info? How can USCIS ignore large companies in lottery? Are you saying that they have picked less number of petitions from the big giants and put them in lottery. You should know that it would be illegal from USCIS’s point of view and these companies can sue them for not accepting all their petitions for the lottery.

      Reply
      • Look, as per the information I have received, not all applications by the IT companies have been considered for the lottery itself. So, few have actually made it to 2,33,000 .
        The problem is that information does not get shared . So, actually there are hundreds of thousands of people over and above 2,33,000 who are actually waiting for the lottery results !!
        It’s unfortunate but that’s how it is

        Reply
  6. I have applied for h1b through USA consultancy from India. RP/Non-AD. When can we expect the results?

    Thanks in advance

    Reply
    • Non-AD, RP is the last of the rung, and you still (mathematically) have a chance until the 15th of May. Don’t lose hope, but at the same time, make concrete steps towards plan B.

      Reply
  7. Got the receipt – regular filing – I don’t know what other abbreviations mean. Master’s quota – I don’t know if mine was picked under it though. Just says case was accepted.

    Reply
  8. I got my notice through fragomen. First time, feel so lucky after going through the forum.Good luck fellas. All legitimate applicants must get through.
    Jai sri krishna!

    Reply
  9. I just got my receipt today.

    AD – RP – VT – Single Employer, Single Application (third time its been this way).

    It all started in 2013. MY OPT was coming to an end in June 2013. I applied for H1B – AD/RP. At the time, I did not know it was going to be a lottery that year. I applied. I got Cap-Gap I-20 / OPT extension from my school when I showed them my H1B application Fedex receipt.

    I did not get picked. I was in such pain and horror – I had worked hard all my life, lived far away from my parents – all because I aspired to make it big in the US corporate environment. Finally, my application got returned by the end of June. I immediately joined a college that was willing to give CPT, but not a shady college. It is a decent college, over a 100 years old – not easy to get CPT, but possible, they were also very strict about how far you live from school and where you work – job role. Everything was important in this school – most importantly your grades. They follow every rule of the USCIS to the dot. So I took this second masters and applied again in 2014. It did not work. Single employer, single client, single application, again. And I failed the lottery again.

    I felt so lonely, so disturbed, – should I just go back? At this point, I decided that all that matters is complete my masters and go home. I only stayed back now to get my second masters. In 2015, hopelessly, almost reluctantly, I applied (1 AD/RP application, again – I wasn’t going to let desire kill my character) and today, my employer called me and told me that I got the receipt. I got through the lottery.

    WOW. Unbelievable. I have no words to express my feeling at the moment. Deeply satisfied and I think this was worth the mercilessly, ruthlessly, painful wait.

    Reply
    • Stories like yours require a true salute for grit and determination… Amazing to see how much strength each one of us have despite thinking of giving up at one point.

      Reply
      • Congo man. You should share college name. It may help deserving people to stay and try one more time while not going to shady places.

        Reply
        • @h1bslaughteragain, @non-ad/rp/waiting, @Gogo

          Thank you guys. The college name is “Goldey Beacom College” – and it is in Wilmington, DE. They only accept students who live within a 100 mile radius and your employer cannot be beyond New York City in the North and Washington DC/Northern Virginia in the south. They are VERY, VERY, VERY strict about grades as well. It is not some kind of a joke school mind you, you have to work hard and maintain grades at a 3.2 @minimum, and also follow all the USCIS rules regarding attendance (100% MANDATORY) for CPT.

          Reply
    • Congratulations Friend..All the very best for future endeavors.
      Your story is really making me to write some comments here..
      I know many guys are showing frustration and angry here when their application not picked up in lottery and they blame people who are not resides in US and the current system that is being operated by US government etc etc.
      I guess you were also frustrated but didn’t blame anyone here for not picking application in lottery and you bravely tried and tried until you reach your goal.
      So just think positive and don’t blame anyone because you are not lucky enough to pick application in lottery. it all luck matters.
      All the best 🙂

      Reply
    • Hey Murugan

      Congrats …. finally you got it. Your dreams are in your hand…

      i am also applying from 2014… will see…

      All the best

      Reply
  10. Case is person got picked up in H1B lottery last year but his employer is not able to send him to US. Person is in India. There is NO Stamping done. Now the person has changed the employer and have only soft copy of the approved petition which was approved last year. Now the Question is can this H1B petition will be transfered to New Employer ?

    Reply
  11. Hi Guys,

    Any one from Infy , Who got Receipts for H1b nonAD/Regular. Waiting for it since 1 year as last year it did not picked up in lottery.

    Reply
  12. I just got my receipt today. It says, Receipt Date-Apr 13 2015
    & Receipt Notice Date-Apr 23 2015…Now i am feeling relieved.

    Reply
    • How did you get your receipt? Did IBM immigration sent you a note about your receipt or did they(IBM immigration or USCIS) send Receipt notice physically to you?

      Reply
  13. Hi Folks

    I have one month gap in my employment. While switching to other company , i took 1 month break to go home town and take care of family. Now i remember , i filled “NO” on my law firm portal where they were asking for any gap in employment. . Do you think this is gonna be a big issue ? Although I didn’t receive any updates on my h1b yet. Expert friends , please comment.

    Reply
  14. I applied in AD, regular processing. All petitions applied by my consultant got picked in lottery except me. Does that mean i should loose hopes?

    Reply
  15. got a call from my consultancy that my case got picked up ! big relief I can now explore better option. Was on L1a though.

    Reply
  16. Hi Everyone,

    I’m happy to share with u all guys that my H1b is picked in lottery. This was my second attempt. Good luck for all those who are waiting. 🙂

    Reply
  17. A receipt number was posted by my lawyer in my case online today. When I checked it said this, does this mean I got selected in the lottery? AD/RP

    On April 13, 2015, we received your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Receipt Number EAC151405++++, and sent you the receipt notice that describes how we will process your case. Please follow the instructions in the notice. If you do not receive your receipt notice by May 13, 2015, please call Customer Service at 1-800-375-5283. If you move, go to uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address.

    Reply
  18. According to Immigration girl blog
    Current stats for this year
    54% of California AD PP (I don’t expect to see any change in this number, I think it is low due to a smaller sample size)
    33% of California Bach PP (I don’t expect to see any change in this number)
    42% of California AD Regular processing (I still think we will get more of these receipts, this should be closer to 70%)
    No receipts for California Bach Regular processing (we should be getting these soon)
    71% of Vermont AD PP (I don’t expect to see any change in this number)
    36% of Vermont Bach PP (I don’t expect to see any change in this number)
    51% of Vermont AD Regular processing (I still think we will get more of these, this should be closer to 70%)
    4% of Vermont Bach Regular processing (I still think we will get more of these, this should be closer to 30%)

    last year stats
    For our cases, we had the following percentage selected last year:
    Vermont, Premium, Masters cap: 80% of cases were selected
    California, Premium, Masters cap: 86% of cases were selected
    Vermont, Regular, Masters cap: 75% of cases were selected
    California, Regular, Masters cap: 75% of cases were selected
    Vermont, Premium, Bachelors cap: 38% of cases were selected
    California, Premium, Bachelors cap: 33% of cases were selected
    Vermont, Regular, Bachelors cap: 48% of cases were selected
    California, Regular, Bachelors: 33% of cases were selected

    Reply
  19. I am PP and haven’t heard back yet. A person that I know of heard back that is probably negative. Does anybody know whether there is still hope for us?

    Reply
  20. I’m so sad I can’t work right now. Without h1b life has no purposes, and I might as well take a short cut. 🙁 🙁

    Reply
  21. Got selected in lottery.
    AD/RP – WAC1513******
    Had applied just one and glad it got selected.
    I did not get selected last year.

    Reply
  22. I am AD/RP/Cali. I have’nt heard anything from the Lawyer/ Employer so far. On Friday 24th I asked my DSO to check my status and it said “F1 Active”.

    Today my DSO just confirmed this (around 12PM PST):

    “Okay, so right now I show a Change of Status Pending on your SEVIS Record with the notation that your F-1 employment status has automatically been extended until Sept. 30 2015.”

    She said there is a receipt number attached to it, but she wont share it with me over social media (I contacted her through facebook). I’ve asked her to send me a screenshot and email it to me.

    Does this mean I have been picked up in the lottery? I don’t want to get my hopes up yet.

    Reply
    • While you wait for your official notice, ask your DSO for an updated i20 copy. On page 2 it should show all the details including receipt number.

      Reply
  23. Hi All,

    I received my Wife’s H4 receipt notice at home from CSC today,but my lawyer didn’t received receipt notice for my H1 until now.
    Does that mean my H1 is picked in lottery?

    Reply
  24. Any Architects/Designers on here? Or other near-negligible minorities?

    I spent 5 years getting a B.Arch here. A lot more time and money spent when compared to the average AD candidate… Sucks that I have a slimmer chance. A poetic double whammy with both the field and degree level.

    Tired of the stress and the wait but all I can do is hope I get picked.

    Reply
    • Hey fella,

      Architect (MSc from EETH Zurich) here. I am currently working with a J1 in Los Angeles. Haven’t heard back from the lottery yet, but I applied for regular processing.

      Reply
        • Earlier this week? Meaning today, as there is no earlier than Monday. I haven’t heard from noone that received a receipt in the regular cap with regular processing from cali yet

          Reply
  25. AD/PP/VT i just got the receipt my lawyer has sent me

    They have emailed the Receipt this afternoon around 2 PM EST.

    Don’t loose hopes for AD/PP/VT guys

    Reply
  26. Hi Everyone,
    I am following this blog from past 2 weeks and its really helpful.
    I received my Wife’s H4 receipt notice at home from CSC today via USPS mail,but my lawyer didn’t received receipt notice for my H1 until now.
    Does that mean my H1 is picked in lottery?

    All the best guys.
    Thanks

    Reply
      • Hi..

        I received the receipt through usps directly from USCIS.
        As far as i know they send the Dependent receipts at ur home address..not sure though…

        Reply
    • What employee details are you talking about here…When you say Case # – Who gave it to you.. Is it the Attorney or the companay that has filed for you ?? your question is not clear enuf for an answer

      Reply
    • i think you are talking about the receipt number, unfortunately you will not be able to see any details(ex: employee name) with the receipt number.

      Reply
  27. Received this from Fragomen for Deloitte…does this mean game over?

    ———–

    As you may know, your H-1B petition was subject to the H-1B quota of 65,000 visas (for candidates holding bachelor’s degrees or degrees from universities outside the U.S.) and 20,000 visas (for candidates holding master’s or higher degrees from U.S. universities). This year, because the demand far outweighed the supply, all cap-subject H-1B petitions received between April 1, 2015 and April 7, 2015 were placed into a computer-generated lottery system.

    The USCIS has already conducted the lottery selection. As of today, we have NOT received any updates from the USCIS in connection with your H-1B cap filing. At this time, we cannot confirm whether or not your case was selected under the lottery as we need to wait for final confirmation from the USCIS. We will be sure to notify you and update your WWIHP account once we receive any updates.

    Reply
    • what category do you fall in .. is it AD or NON AD.. PP / RP ?
      I would still say, you shouldnt lose hope..Receipts are still getting generated ,
      I belv.. for AD/PP you might have to make other plans, but again unless the packages are returned nothing can be said here…

      Reply
    • I also received the same e-mail from Fragomen today afternoon. Mine is NonAd/PP/VT.
      Kind of tensed now…
      Wish to receive soon another mail from fragomen with the good news and receipt number…

      Reply
  28. Today i see “we approved your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker”
    is this mean they have processed my docs and all done? Is there anything to wait on?
    let me know please. thanks a lot

    Reply
    • how long it took for your approval after you received your receipt?

      i have also received the receipt…but still no progress further.

      Reply
      • If you have filed under premium processing, you would know of approval before May 12. If you filed under regular processing, it could take anywhere between two to six months. Last year, some people got approval in September.

        Reply
    • @1forh1 – Yes. You are approved. All done. They will send you the approved documents/notice etc. It looks like you must have filed under PP and you are one of the first ones to get approved. They were supposed to start adjudicating the cases from today.

      Congratulations! It can’t get any faster than this.

      Reply

Leave a Comment