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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. What a shame ?

    http://m.timesofindia.com/world/us/US-sting-operation-busts-sham-varsity-racket-Indian-Chinese-recruiters-students-outed/articleshow/51709233.cms

    Reply

  6. When will we come to know about total count?
    Are u sure about the lottery run date ? is it on April 11?
    how many days we have to wait with this tension?
    God please bless all of us, everyone should get selected during random selection . Some miracle\error should happen in the system so all should get selected.
    Will hope for the best….

    Reply

  8. So the lottery will run on April 11, right?

    And how long it takes for the chosen knowing they were chosen ?

    Tks.

    Reply

  9. We received only the LCA NUMBER . And it says it is ceritifed when ee checked the status. We did not receive FEDEX no yet.

    Anyone facing the same situation? And also what does it mean.

    Reply

  10. Non selected filing money will be returned to the employer. So, does the price hike really matters for the big companies to file more numbers?
    They will obviously will file more and then get the non selected money back right?

    Reply

    • It would matter to those people who file multiple visa and by themselves, because that money is never returned. So hopefully that would lead to a few thousand less applicants

      Reply

    • Your logic is good enough, but the real story is, its a gamble game for big shots.
      Indian companies file more petitions to retain their offshore employees for 1 to 2 years.
      For big companies the attorney charges are high ($1500-3000), and if the petition get approved they have to pay extra $4000 as per new Law. In between due to some reason if the candidate resigns its huge loss. By seeing all the consequence they might have filed selected employees.

      Reply

  13. Every one of us were doing some sort of research & trying to predict what would be the Number this time, I have discussed with few of my friends in different Indian IT companies who were usually file more.

    one thing that we all noticed is TCS, Infosys, Wiprow were filing a little less Petitions this time & thats no where usefull for us who are applying this time because atleast 35% of last time unlucky ones will be trying there luck again this time also any ways in all aspects i feel like more or less it will be same as like last year.

    we can expect the count between 230k to 260k. lets see if number is lesser than the prediction that’s a surprise only.

    All the best my friends. don’t loose Hope

    Reply

    • Yes you are right, there might be slight decrease or increase in numbers from last year but expecting significant variation is not correct

      Reply

      • So if +/- from last years , then again do we stand by the margin of 233000 ??? :'(

        So again 1 in 5 ????

        Merlins Beard 🙁

        Reply

          • Does anyone have any idea on how the Lottery system works ???

            Is it like , say it selects 1,5,6,22,…… Etc in an increasing order or will it be picking in a random order like 1, 5, 6, 22, 4,18,2…….

  14. My h1b petition got approved from company B in October and I got it stamped on April 4th. But also my current company A has filed for new h1b on April 1st as I had not informed A about company B. Are there any issues to have 2 approved petitions – 1 from last year from B and 1 from this year from A(if it gets thru lottery and is approved)?. In case A’s petition gets thru lottery and gets approved how many years can I stay in US without applying for GC using both the petitions?Can I work for 5 years in US thru B’s petition and then apply for cap-exempt thru A’s petition and stay in total for 11 years ?

    Reply

    • @Multiple H1 petetion

      You r really an ididot, this is something like taking 2 tickets in the same bus to travel to a location at the same time

      Please be quite till apr 11 as most of them doest even have one 🙁

      Reply

      • @Multiple H1 petetion

        You will be jailed !!Run buddy Run !! Already Americans are angry about outsiders taking their jobs and you intend to take two jobs !

        I really find it amusing when you ask if you can stay for 11 years…and do what ? Idiots like you should be deported to some other country, even India doesn’t deserve you.

        Here more than 200,000 people are desperate to get that one coveted visa from only 65000 and u unnecessarily reduced the chances of 4 people by 20%.

        I have a better idea, if you want to stay in US for more than 11 years, do some large scale company fraud-stock market thing, and you will earn some 50 year life imprisonment IN A USA jail.

        H1B lottery is not a thing you apply for every year and earn the coupons to encash every 6 years !! Idiot !!

        Reply

    • You shd have provided the I 797 form to your current company and asked them to file a CAP exempt H1B.

      You wasted your and current employers time and money

      Reply

      • Your petition from A will get rejected, you are already approved, so your petition from B will not be valid after A gets rejected or if A gets approved because of unknown reasons, expect to get RFE, or in worst case nothing because you will be out of status.

        Reply

  18. Does anyone’s fedex tracking still show it is pending? My package was sent out on March 31 and it has been staying in the local fedex center for 2 days. How about others?

    Reply

  22. @kumar, @ Data Analysis, @R programmer, @ Suarabh, @ H1B prediction and to all who have analyzed

    Whats the actual count that we are finalyzing here ???

    Do we need to stick around 190k or around 250k ????

    Pls dont share a count apart from this as most of them who analyzed fall under the above category

    Thanks,
    Finally, Finalllllly , Finalllllllllly

    Reply

  24. Most of the LCAs(almost 95%) filed between work start date 1st August and 30 September are for new H1. Rest are either amendments, employer change etc. Comparing FY 2015 counts with FY 2016, it seems major MNCs like TCS, Info, HCL, IBM etc. are filing way less than last year. Also overall count is less than last year for above mentioned period. 204,408 Vs. 250,393

    You will have to randomly look at LCAs to analyze this.

    Reply

    • Rest of them for new H1B are masters/advanced degree applicants who started working before this time period and had their LCA filed, around 50k

      Reply

    • You have to join MBA if you have already pursued MS, and work with CPT till you get H1B (probably you can try for couple of years again).

      Reply

        • Yes we can. But some colleges accept only if you stay in the city where the college is located. So you should ask your employer for remote working. You can check some colleges in Delaware.

          Reply

      • Yes we can. But some colleges accept only if you stay in the city where the college is located. So you should ask your employer for remote working. You can check some colleges in Delaware.

        Reply

        • So these would be weekend courses right, I know someone who might have done it. Can it create problem for future H1B petitions in any way?

          Reply

        • Yes it’s weekend courses. It won’t create any problem. My brother did the same and got H1B last year. Now he is about to finish his course and will go back to his work location in couple of months.

          Reply

        • Yes it’s weekend course. It won’t create any problem. My brother did the same and got H1b last year and now he is about to finish his course and will go back to his work location in couple of months.

          Reply

    • if you have done masters or higher degree, and you have good relations with a school faculty, you can stick with the school as “research engineer” or some other role. The school can file for your H1-B visa. H1s filed by school are not subject to cap. These can be filed any time of the year and you can start working any time.

      Now once, you are on a cap exempt H1-b visa, you can work for any employer in industry on a concurrent H1-B visa. Concurrent H1 B visas are again NOT subject to cap. Can be filed any time of the year and you can start working any time of the year.

      The key for this plan to work would be for you to first get an employment at your school and your school filing for your cap exempt H1-B.

      Reply

      • This is not true…please don’t mislead. If you want to work for another employer which is not exempted from the cap, you still need to get the H1b lottery in order to work for that employer. Concurrent H1b just means that you can hold 2 H1b visas (typically one full-time and one part-time) but they are separate.

        Reply

        • Hi Rainbow, the concurrent h1 is not subject to cap. You can work for anybody.

          I am not misleading. Just informing.

          Reply

          • Hi jongadu, you can read information about concurrent h1: h1b1.com/practices/concurrent-employment/

            Concurrent h1b means you still need to get two separate H1bs if you want to work for two different employers.

  28. Any fake updates from guys having friends in USCIS?? Like FedEx package not accepted as they didnt expect too high load??? Or 3 Lakhs on day 1 and 3 Lakhs on Day 2?? etc…..

    Reply

    • My Fake contacts at Fedex have informed that they are conducting a lottery & only those selected lottery packets will be sent out 🙂

      Reply

    • Count would be released tomorrow.. But there is this Alert in USCIS website

      So expect the numbers to be high …

      Reply

  30. To all medical technologist/ medical laboratory scientist who joined the h1b lottery program, just hang on..pray & hope 4 the best???✌️

    Reply

  31. TCS never file green card but they have started and also wipro following the same.. CTS filed around 4000 last yr ..so demand from big guys will be less or same as last year.. only desi companies who opened new companies can increase the demand for h1b and also due to location change rule that came in last December many companies are filing amendment for the Lca change for the petitions approved fy16 cap. After RFE, most petitions were approved after November only.. Also employee growth if offshore was less in last year.

    Reply

    • Any fake updates from guys having friends in USCIS?? Like FedEx package not accepted as they didnt expect too high load??? Or 3 Lakhs on day 1 and 3 Lakhs on Day 2??

      Reply

  34. Did you notice the LCA count on icert.doleta.gov website is now reducing.
    Today -2 it was 411828
    Today -1 it was 411826
    Today it is 411677

    Any idea how is it happening?

    Reply

  35. Anyone has a guess for advanced degree application estimate? They don’t provide that info but anyone’s gut feeling would be helpful 🙂 I would guess 25% of the total applications based on 20k out of 85( 65+20)

    Reply

      • those days are gone when Master’s degree had 50% chance. It will be less than 50% for sure. last year there were 230k total applications ! this year it will cross that figure. Just because fee structure has changed does not mean that companies won’t file. With all the new startups, there are so many jobs available and companies are ready to sponsor. I know of a startup they hired 5 new grads and they are doing H1b for all that too with premium.

        Reply

        • In this case with 200k applications and 50k of them with masters, chances of getting selected for a master graduate is around 60%.

          Reply

  36. Any updates on total LCA count to H1B petition analysis ? Filed my H1b first time this year though on L1b.

    Hope it works for everyone this year.

    Reply

  39. Hi Saurabh/ Kumar,

    If you could write an article on your views on the new proposal “Retention of EB–1, EB–2, and EB–3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High- Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers”, it could help a lot of people.

    Thank you.

    Reply

  41. I saw a few companies (desi) in the data which have filed for at least 100 LCA’s (now and in the past) but do not have any H1B approved. Probably to fool some of the people they contact or recruit

    Reply

      • Not directly but you can checkout at myvisajobs.com, some companies had 100 of LCA approved but not single H1B petition filed/selected

        Reply

        • No body knows a company’s actual H1B data other than company itself and USCIS.
          All the data available to public is only LCA

          Reply

          • You can check for previous years i.e. FY 2016, FY 2015. Just google company name with myvisajobs.com and you will see the data. Some of the companies have LCA approved but no H1B, guess that’s why we see such huge difference in data + H1B transfers so to say

  43. Guys,

    LCA count is now increasing at very slow rate.
    What do you have guys think of the number of applications this year?
    Please share what you think will be the count with or without theory(gut feeling).
    I stick to 175k – 190k.
    +- 10k

    Reply

    • Well if you look at the data, 180k would be a very good estimate, unless there is something which has been overlooked while doing the analysis. It definitely should be less than last year.

      Reply

    • @Data Analysis – am reading your analysis and really appreciate for your efforts. At end of the day only luck matters if there is lottery

      Reply

    • Seeing the LCA count I observed, This year, the small size companies who got employees less than 50, are filing more (likely the double) petitions compare to last year, to take the advantage of getting selected in lottery and fees.

      Reply

    • Yes daily increasing 4 to 5k. I’m checking infosys numbers , they are taking daily around 150 LCA’s. I dont know who else is taking these LCA’s.

      Almost all small companies might have filed LCA’S in March mid itself. No clue who is taking these LCA’s

      We are left with 3 days (4th, 5th and 6th LCA approvals) , so we can expect 10 to 15K more LCA’s.

      Since few days I’m analyzing LCA data and agree with Data Analysis numbers.

      Mostly number will be around 180k.

      Reply

  50. Its good to see nice and healthy discussion going on here along with some fun 🙂 and lots of data analysis and prediction regarding number of applications.

    The total applications starting from 1st June 2016 to 30 Sept 2016 counts to be 2,41,238. Most out of this can be expected for new petitions.

    One number missing out of this all discussion is number of positions filed against LCA’s. I just curated some data and below are my findings.

    LCA Count vs Positions per LCA
    186 x 150
    30 x 100
    2 x 99
    4 x 75
    4 x 60
    1 x 55
    333 x 50
    5 x 45
    40 x 40
    1295 x 30
    1735 x 25
    946 x 20
    1705 x 15
    3038 x 10
    111 x 9
    331 x 8
    353 x 7
    474 x 6
    7308 x 5

    Total LCA’s filed turns out to be 17901 for multiple positions (more than 5) which accounts to be 252417 positions in total. (Not considering LCA’s for number of positions 2,3,4)

    Number LCA’s filed till 2nd Apr – Multi Position LCA + Multiple Positions = Approx positions filed

    241238 – 17901 + 252417 = 475754

    This counts to be 475754 positions which is a huge number as some of you have pointed out that still the number of LCA’s filed during Apr-Sept is not included in this part.

    Though not for each LCA position companies file H1b applications, I am expecting around 2.75 Lac – 3 Lac applications this year.

    Reply

    • If you compare last year’s data there were 345161 LCAs filed between 06/01/2015 – 09/30/2015. But the total number of people in the lottery was 233000.

      Reply

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