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H1B Visa 2017 News Updates, Fees , Lottery Predictions, LCA - Processing Times, FAQs.

H1B Visa 2017 – News, Quota, Cap, Predictions, Lottery, FAQs

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If you were one of the unlucky ones not picked in whopping 233,000 H1B 2016 Lottery Applications , you might be already wondering when is the next H1B season going to start.  Also, some of you may be studying in US and some working abroad and planning to work in US next year. This page will be constantly updated with the latest details and commonly asked questions around the next upcoming H1B Visa fiscal year of 2017 season news and updates.
[alert type=”warning” close=”false” heading=”H1B Visa Cap reached for FY 2017, Lottery Done “]  On April 7th, H1B Cap for FY 2017 was reached. Lottery was done on April 9th. Read News Summary – Over 236,000 Petitions for FY2017 [/alert]

When will the H1B visa 2017 season start ? Date ?

Short answer April 1st 2016. Typically, USCIS will start to accept petitions for the next fiscal year starting from April 1st of the previous fiscal year. USCIS fiscal year is from October 1st to September 30th. So, for H1B quota of fiscal year 2017, which starts from October 1st, 2017, USCIS would typically accept applications from April 1st, 2016.  The H1B Visa 2016 season started on April 1st of 2015.  Also, in the H1B Rejected Notices of 2016, USCIS mentioned that, the non-selected candidates can file H1B petitions for FY 2017 on or after April 1st, 2016.

USCIS announced on March 16th, 2016 that they will accept FY 2017 petitions from April 1st, 2016. Read Summary of USCIS press release FY 2017 .
Also, we have written an article summarizing on What to expect in H1B FY 2017 Season 

What is H1B 2017 Cap ? What are the H1B 2017 Quota numbers ? Regular vs Masters ?
If you new to H1B, I suggest you read All about H1B Visa Cap- Regular vs Masters. In simple terms H1B cap is a congressional mandated maximum number of petitions that USCIS can accept in a year.  As of now, below are the H1B cap number for fiscal year 2017.  The below numbers are confirmed in press release by USCIS on Mar 16, 2016.

  • Regular H1B Quota : 65,000
  • H1B Master’s Degree Quota ( only US Master 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.

There have been many discussions around change in H1B cap numbers by Obama administration since 2013. The planned proposal was to increase the regular quota cap to 110,000 and Masters quota to 25,000.  No changes for FY 2017, the above numbers of 65,000 and 20,000 are officially confirmed by USCIS in their press release.

What is H1B Visa 2017 Prediction? Will there be Lottery again for FY 2017

Update :  USCIS Updated on April 12th, 2016 that they have received over 236,000 petitions for FY 2017 quota and the lottery was completed on April 9th.

Looking at the past trend of H1B season in the past three years, we could very likely have lottery for FY 2017. Last year for FY 2016 quota, there were 233,000 applications. We have done a detail analysis with the H4 Visa EAD rule in place considering the economy, students graduating, OPT news, etc.  You should read  article H1B Visa 2017 Lottery Prediction News, results, Date .

If H1B lottery, will there be any preference in lottery for Large companies ? Premium Processing 
Well, no preference for anyone, all are treated equally, including premium processing. There are many such misconceptions about lottery process, we have compiled a list of such myths and criteria, you should read Myths of H1B Lottery, Criteria

When to plan for H1B visa 2017 Application ? How soon ? What should be the strategy ?
It is never too late to start planning for your H1B 2017 season. If you plan to work in US on H1B visa in the next coming fiscal year, below are some suggestions based on your situation.

  • F1 Student in USA : If you are studying on F1 visa and about to graduate in next one year, you should seriously look at finding an internship or co-op at companies that can sponsor your H1B visa. You can search for H1B Sponsors in a particular area using our H1B Sponsors Search Tool and try to get an internship to work there on CPT or OPT after you graduate. This is a strategic move and will require sometime, so plan well.
  • Professional from outside USA : If you are a working professional outside US, planning to work in US on H1B, your best bet is to find Multinational companies that have major US presence and secure a job there, so that you can position internally for applying to H1B visa, when the season starts. This is a very strategic decision, you need to carefully assess your options, speak to the company if such options exist and then only choose it.
  • Other H4, L1 Visas : If you are on these visas, your best bet is to find companies just like I mentioned for F1 students that sponsor H1B visas and start interviewing and keeping the conversation going so that you can ask them to file H1B when the season starts.

We have put together a Step by Step Plan on How to apply for H1B 2017 Quota

How do I find a H1B Visa Sponsor – The most asked million dollar question ?
If you are student in the US, it is very straight forward, you find the list of H1B Sponsoring companies using the tool in an area as I mentioned above and get an internship in one of them so that they can sponsor your H1B visa.   Unlike, if you are coming from outside US, it can be tricky.  If you work for an Multinational company ( MNC), then they will have some internal process to pick the candidates and then process H1B visa for them…The other option that has been used and abused is the consulting companies route…Many a times, the H1B aspirants approach a body shop IT consulting company to file H1B for them and they apply for the same. It gets nasty with the body shop consulting companies.  The comments on this H1B Companies Reviews article are quite eye opening. I advise, you beware of the consulting companies and avoid fraud.  Also, WE as RedBus2US do NOT provide any guidance or assistance or sponsor anything. If someone claims that, it is pure fraud and they are trying to trick you, we are not responsible for that. Please be careful. Anyways, for various other options , You may read article How to find H1B 2017 Sponsors

What is the H1B visa 2017 filing fee ? Is it same or any changes ?
It changed slightly this year with the Omnibus Bill passed in December 2015, that will increase the H1B filing fee by $4000 for FY 2017, until 2025 for certain companies that have over 50 employees and have more than 50% of their employees as H1B or L1 visa holders in USA.  Check USCIS Guidelines on H1B Fee increase. Depending on the size of the company, the H1B filing fee can vary anywhere from $1,600 USD to $7,400 USD + Attorney Fee. There are various fees components that make up this number range, for more details Read Summary of H1B Filing Fee 2017 – Who pays for What ? . Below is a high level summary. Also, one key change is that,  there was $2000 USD additional filing fee as per Public Law 111-230, this law expired on Sep 30, 2015 and that is not included anymore.

H1B Fee Component Fee in USD
 Base filing fee $325
AICWA Fee $750  or $1,500
Fraud prevent & detection fee $500
Fee based on Public Law 114-113 ( if applicable) $4000
Premium processing fee (Optional) $1,225
Immigration Attorney Fee Varies from $500 to $3000

What about Comprehensive Immigration Reform(CIR) and Obama Executive Actions for H1B 2017 Quota Increase ? 
There has been many articles and discussions since 2013 around immigration reform by President Obama and changes around and some like below have been discussed in the last couple of years, nothing moved significantly.

  • 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  ( Part of this came up as the fee increase in Omnibus Bill )
  • Additional H1B rules to avoid H1B Visa fraud by employers
  • Mandatory LCA posting for 30 days before it is certified.

The current status on all of the above are basically “No updates”,  there are no set deadlines for any of them and none of these are happening for FY 2017. You may read Summary of CIR Changes to H1B . Officially as per press release on March 16, 2016, the H1B cap is confirmed to be 65,000 for regular and 20,000 for masters…hence, no changes.

What is LCA for H1B Visa ? Processing times ?
LCA is a form that has to be filed with US Dept of Labor and get it certified before filing H1B petition with USCIS. It has to be sent along with H1B Package to USCIS.  It has all the relevant information about the job position like wage, location, title, etc. It takes about 7 working days for processing of the LCA by US Dept of Labor (DOL). You can read complete details at Why is LCA Needed for H1B – Processing Time, Salary 

H1B Visa 2017 Premium Processing Time :

USCIS Updated in their original press release on March 16, 2016 that the premium processing will begin no later than May 16, 2016.  But, on April 22nd, they updated that the premium processing for FY 2017 will begin on May 12th, 2016. What it means is that the official 15 calendar day SLA for premium processing petitions will be starting from 12th.  USCIS may process the petitions early as well, but officially their clock starts on that day.

H1B 2017 Case Tracker  :
Did you apply for FY 2017 ?  We have put together a tracker along with good graphs for analysis. It is completely anonymous as we do not capture your case number or any personal information. It is community contributed data, the more you add, the better for everyone, including  You !

[prompt type=”left” title=”Track your H1B Case” message=” Anonymously Track your H1B Case – Share and Get updated from Community.” button_text=”H1B 2017 Case Tracker” href=”https://redbus2us.com/trackers/h1b-visa-tracker/”]

Most Recent News of FY 2017 H1B
Below is the most recent news regarding H1B 2017 season. You can check the updates page as indicated below for the full history and details.

  • July 8th, 2016 ( Official ) : USCIS released a press note today indicating that they have completed returning all the petitions that were not selected in the H1B lottery for FY 2017. Read More details here 
  • May 2nd, 2016 ( Official Update ) : USCIS updated that data entry is complete for selected petitions in lottery. if you were selected, you should receive receipt notices in 2 to three weeks. If not, the chances are very slim to get selected. You should look at your plan B.  Read H1B Data Entry Complete Article for full details
  • April 22nd, 2016 : (Official Update) USCIS Updated that they will start premium processing from May 12th, instead of May 16th.
  • April 12th, 2016 – 6:30 PM EST : Official Update :  USCIS released a press note that H1B lottery was completed on April 9th and they received over 236,000 petitions for FY 2017 quota. Read Press Release Summary  
  • April 12th, 2016 – 11:50 AM CST ( Unofficial Update ) : It is reported on blog by attorney ( immigrationgirl ) that they have received about 40 email receipts of Premium Processing. What it means is that USCIS has already conducted lottery. We will keep you posted with updates. If I am not wrong, they are just drafting the press release now.

[prompt type=”left” title=”H1B 2017 – Latest News Updates” message=” Most recent and complete history of all latest breaking news updates from Official sources like USCIS and Unofficial sources for FY 2017 Season.” button_text=”Latest H1B 2017 News” href=”https://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2017-cap-count-updates-tracker-news/”]

When is the next H1B Season ?

The next H1B season starts on April 1st, 2017.  Wondering about your next chance for H1B and various details about the next H1B season, check out H1B Visa 2018 FAQs

Sample H1B Reject Notices for FY 2017 ?

USCIS has started to mail out the reject notices for FY 2017 petitions that were not picked in lottery. It says that the start date for next year H1B season is April 1, 2017. You can check out the Sample Reject Notice for FY 2017, Details

We have many more FAQs around H1B Visa 2017. We will continue to keep updating the page with latest news and updates regarding FY 2017. Bookmark this page and keep checking for updates.

Photo of author
Satheesh Kumar Ilu, commonly known as Kumar, is the founder of RedBus2US.com. He is an Immigration and Study Abroad expert. He holds an MS from the University of Houston–Clear Lake and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He studied, lived, and worked in the U.S. and Singapore for nearly two decades, and has traveled to over 25 countries.

   

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23,619 Comments

  1. Did anyone try raising an AHD request for the status update?
    I read that someone in Infy got update after raising three AHD requests.

    Reply

    • I raised it today morning, have not got any update so far. They told they will get back to me and told me to be patient.

      Reply

      • Same here, I raised AHD request today @1PM, but no response from them. Keep on transferring the ticket to others….:(

        Why Infosys is this much lazy….??

        Reply

    • Raised AHD with GICS and INFY GI team is still saying that they have not received single confirmation on Lottery selection/cheque encashment from USCIS.

      GI team is just making employee fool ..Dont understand the reason behind this laziness of INFOSYS

      This really kills me…waiting period is so bad in INFOSYS.

      Reply

  2. Did anyone try raising an AHD request for the status update?
    I read that someone in Infy got update after 3 raising AHD requests.

    Reply

  5. I am second timer for NON-AD/RP, up to what time I have to wait? This wait is killing me, sleepless nights, GOD please help me.

    Reply

  6. Finally magic word for me too. Got my WAC Receipt number. This was my 2nd attempt, and 2nd last too. I am on extending L1 currently, and has everything setup here with kids. Finally a big big relief for me and my family. This is for you my kids… love you 🙂

    Category – Non-AD/RP

    Never loose hope!!! All the best everyone!!!

    Reply

  8. Folks, how long does it typically take for the application to move from “Case Received” to “Case approved”?

    Note: AD/RP/VSC – Picked in lottery!

    Reply

    • No Update at all. Atleast this time I am able to see that my case is filled for lottery… Have shipping tracking number…. other than that no info at all. Looks like IBMers have to wait till May 1st week.

      Reply

      • Yes my teammate in IBM got receipt number yesterday. He got email from his case manager with tracking number. He is Non-AD/RP/VA.

        Reply

  12. Hi, any news for Non-AD/PP? I was informed by my employer that I can wait until end of May. Also, have you heard from Fragomen?My employer is located in Washington, D.C.

    Reply

  14. Any news for Non-AD /PP? I was informed by my employer that I can wait until end of May. Also, have you heard from Fragomen? My employer is located in Washington, D.C. Thank you.

    Reply

  15. Hi Guys

    How to identify the center in which H1B application is filled? Guys from Infosys, did anyone receive any updates from GICS?

    Reply

  16. Anyone from TCS have any idea when we can start getting updates?

    Still shows as ‘Selection In Lottery In Process’ on Visa Tracker.

    Since CTS and all have started providing receipt numbers, can we expect any updates now or its a longer wait?

    Reply

  19. Infy guys, buzzed Tasha yesterday. She said that she is not the contact and the applns are just assigned under her name..

    Reply

  20. Hey guyz

    I was in US on H1B during Dec 2007 to June 2008! (Had to come back to India due to family matters).

    This time got selected again. So how many years do I have for H1B?

    Only 3 years? Or remaining time of previous H1B will also count?

    Please suggest.

    Reply

  26. Hurrayyy….my petition got selected in the lottery. Very happyyy…end to sleepless nights
    Mine is NONAD/RP….first attempt…feeling very lucky…received the confirmation last nite
    Congrats to all who got selected n good luck for those who are waiting for the result…keep going

    Reply

  27. Hi all,

    Happy to report that I got through as well (Non-AD, RP, CA)
    WAC-16-142-50****

    Wish everyone else the best of luck if you haven’t found out yet. The waiting & uncertainty is the worst part… pure joy on the other side though!

    Thanks!

    Reply

  34. Did any one from Sark Technology get any news? I asked them, they are saying they will inform by April end or 1st week of May.

    Reply

  37. Hi guys!

    I just hope USCIS will begin sending receipt number/letters not only to employers/attorneys but also to the beneficiary of h1b. For our protection also. I am only speaking to those who submitted non AD/ RP that have no way to verify if they were selected or not unless they are informed.

    I am one of them ?.

    Reply

    • @RSB

      Was ur application sent to VT or CA?
      My check was cashed on 21 april. however, i have not receive my receipt notice yet. m getting a lil anxious.

      Reply

      • Same here buddy. There’s no need to be anxious. We have made it to the next level.
        I think we spoke yesterday. My check was cashed on 20th April. I am still waiting for receipt notice. My DSO won’t entertain any H1B requests. SEVIS helpline won’t reveal receipt request. Only option is to wait till Friday.

        Reply

  43. Good News for—- RP/Non-Ad and AD STILL A Hope……

    “http://immigrationgirl.com/updated-h-1b-lottery-receipt-results-as-of-april-27th-for-fy-2017/”

    Don’t Loose Hope……..

    Reply

  47. Today the CA center processed 4500 receipts so far where as Vermont has not even created half of them…
    Wait and have patience for couple of weeks
    As everyone say, I believe the last days is May 2 plus a week for getting the receipts through mail plus time to get informed

    May 2 (Last date may be ) + 5 (Reciepts to come through mail ) + 2 (days to get informed) = May 9
    Again May 9 only for US employees and staffing companies.
    Wipro, CTS,TCS, TechM, IBM might even take more time to inform which could be on a later date

    Reply

  48. Any one from CTS kolkata got reciept???

    I called GM, they told 1st batch mails have been sent, however none of my frnds from kol have recieved reciepts….

    its bit strange!!!

    Reply

  50. I tried H1 through a consultancy in US. Mine is non-ad and rp. If i dont get any news of my H1 getting picked up, how can i assure that the consultancy actually raised H1 for me.

    Reply

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