Home » US Immigration - Visas » H1B Visa » H1B Visa 2018 – News, Quota, Cap, Lottery Results, FAQs
H1B Visa 2018 News, Lottery, Fee, Predictions

H1B Visa 2018 – News, Quota, Cap, Lottery Results, FAQs

| by | 12,891 Comments

This page is constantly updated with latest news, info, FAQs on current H1B 2018 season. Below are some topics, FAQs covered on this page.

  • Start of  H1B Visa 2018 season ?
  • H1B Quota for FY 2018 ?
  • H1B visa 2018 Lottery Predictions ?
  • Plan for H1B FY 2018 Application ?
  • Find Visa Sponsors for H1B 2018 ?
  • H1B Visa 2018 Fee ?
  • H1B 2018 Lottery Results
  • H1B 2018 Petitions  Tracker – Crowdsourced
  • New President Trump Administration Impact on H1B Visa 2018 Quota?
  • Latest News updates of H1B FY 2018

H1B 2018, 2019 Season is over, H1B 2020 Season Starts on April 1st, 2019.  Check out H1B Visa 2020 – Start Date, Fee, Lottery – FAQs 

If this is your first year of H1B visa filing, you must read What is H1B Visa, Requirements, Process . Not to scare you, Last year, there was lottery for H1B season and for FY 2017 USCIS received 236,000 applications .

When does H1B Visa 2018 Season Start ?
Update : USCIS accepted H1B Petitions for FY 2018 starting from April 3rd, 2017 until April 7th. They updated that H1B Cap was reached on April 7th, 2017. 
Typically, USCIS accepts H1B petitions for next fiscal year starting from April 1st. So, for FY 2018, the start date for accepting applications would be April 1st, 2017.  But, for FY 2018 season, April 1st falls on a Saturday, so USCIS will accept applications starting from Monday, April 3rd, 2017.   If you were wondering why called 2018, when in 2017, it is the fiscal year dates that dictate that. USCIS fiscal year is from October 1st to March 30th. So, technically the fiscal year for 2018 starts from October 1st and they accept petitions for the same 6 months before the start date and it would be April 1st, 2017.  You may read USCIS Press release for H1B 2017 Start Date 

What is H1B 2018 Quota ? Regular Cap vs Master’s Cap Quota ? 
Update : USCIS confirmed the below quota cap numbers in latest press release for FY 2018. 
To get some background, read H1B Quota – Regular vs Masters .  There have been many speculations on increasing the H1B Cap due to extremely high demand and bills proposed for the same in the past, nothing made it through. As of writing of this article, below is the H1B cap quota. We will keep this article updated as new changes come in.  The total H1B Quota as of today is 85,000 and it is split like below.

Regular H1B Quota  65,000
Master’s H1B Quota ( Only US Masters Degree Eligible) 20,000

Out of the above 85,000 quota, 6,800 are set aside for Singapore and Chile citizens as part of the free trade agreement between them. Also, check out the article with history of maximum H1B Cap from 1990 to 2017 

H1B 2018 Lottery Predictions ? 
It used to be a speculation whether we would have lottery in previous years, but in the past 4 years, lottery has become common. It is very likely that we would have lottery aka random selection for H1B 2018 season.  We have been writing predictions over the years and all of them have been accurate so far. Check out our H1B Visa 2018  Lottery Predictions – Data Analysis  to get an idea on how many H1B petitions you can expect for this fiscal year.

Update : USCIS Received 199,000 H1B petitions for fiscal year 2018.  H1B Lottery was conducted on April 11th, 2017.

Are you planning for next fiscal year, Read  H1B Visa 2019 – Lottery Date, News, FAQs 

When to plan for H1B 2018 Application – What should be your strategy ?
It is never too late to start planning…Depending on your situation, you may fall in one of the below categories and the suggestions are described below.

  • 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.
  • Working Professional from outside USA : If you are a working professional outside US, planning to work in US, especially  on H1B visa, your best bet is to find Multinational companies ( MNCs) 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. There may be many people already in-line for these visas, you need to plan carefully so that you are given a slot in the company’s filing for your next season application.
  • Other H4, L1 Visas :  If you are on these visas living in USA, 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.

For FY 2017, we have put together a Step by Step Plan on How to apply for H1B 2017 Quota, it gives a guideline on the planning and what steps exists.

How to find H1B Visa Sponsor for FY 2018 quota ?
This is probably the most asked question by everyone. It can be a tricky decision, you need be very careful to avoid fraud.

  • 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.
  • If you are professional planning to arrive in US from outside America,  it can be really 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

We have an article that we wrote for previous season, you may read article How to find H1B 2017 Sponsors to find out various options.

What is H1B Visa 2018 Fee ? How much does it cost for the company ? 

The H1B fee varies by the size of the company..As of FY 2017 season, it can range anywhere from $1,600 USD to $7,400 USD + Attorney Fee. On December 23, 2016 , USCIS increased the H1B fee component of base filing fees, which was $325. The below table is updated with the latest fee updates from USCIS.  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 from FY 2017 quota.  If any changes, we will update this accordingly.

H1B Fee Component Fee in USD
 Base filing fee $460
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

H1B 2018 Lottery Results – Checks Cashed, Receipts : 
One of the most asked questions is when will I get to know the lottery result for my petition. Well, this depends on many factors and there is no set SLA or date.  To put things in perspective,  last year, USCIS did a news alert indicating that they have returned all the rejected H1B petitions on July 8th, 2017. So, you can expect the last date for receiving final lottery decision around mid July 2017. …As we had about same number of petitions filed for FY 2018, it may be slightly earlier or even later in July or even early August 2017…  Few of the ways you would know, if you are selected in lottery is that, if the check that was filed with your H1B petition was cashed, or your employer gets the actual physical receipt notice in mail to them. If you filed under US masters quota, SEVIS update is another indication that you were selected in H1B lottery for FY 2018.  Ideally, your receipt numbers should arrive within 1 to 2 months…but, you never know, until you get a reject notice to be sure !

H1B 2018 Case Tracker  :
Did you apply for FY 2018 ?  With premium processing suspended, it is quite hard for applicants to know the general status of everyone to understand their situation. 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 2018 Case Tracker” href=”https://redbus2us.com/trackers/h1b-visa-tracker/”]
New President Trump Administration Impact on H1B Visa 2018 Quota?

We do not know, if this news release is directed by Trump administration or not…but, on April 3rd, 2017 the start date of H1B season, there were set of new announcements made by USCIS to report and prevent abuse of H1B program. Check out USCIS New measures to report, prevent H1B Fraud  . Besides this, as of the today ( article updated date), nothing has been officially ordered or specifically implemented by New President Trump Administration. There are many speculations on how H1B program will become tougher with higher wages, quota limits, etc… but, nothing has been officially signed. We will update the article as new updates come in.

Various H1B Bills  in US House and Senate  – Will they be passed for FY 2018 ?
There are few bills that are introduced in 2017 and at various stages in both house and senate. There are many confusions regarding the same bills like the minimum wage will go up to $130,000 USD, etc.  Fact is that nothing has passed and there are very slim chances for them to get passed before start of FY 2018 season. You can check H1B Bills Tracker to get more details on current status. We will keep the article updated as new things are passed.

Latest News about H1B 2018 Season 
High Level Latest News for FY 2018 is listed below. But, all the Latest News are tracked on our H1B 2018 News and Updates Tracker Page. Check out below.

[prompt type=”left” title=”H1B 2018 – 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 2018 Season.” button_text=”Latest H1B 2018 News” href=”https://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-2018-cap-count-updates-tracker-latest-news-info/”]

Are you planning for FY 2018 quota ?  What are your questions ? Add your thoughts.

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

12,891 Comments

  2. Here is the below article in India media :

    http://m.ndtv.com/world-news/us-accuses-tcs-infosys-of-violating-h-1b-visa-norms-1684925?pfrom=home-topstories

    Clearly stating the Visa Abuse by INFOSYS

    Reply

    • At a White House briefing last week, an official in the Trump administration said a small number of giant outsourcing firms flood the system with applications which naturally ups their chances of success in the lottery draw.

      Reply

    • Another article with number of visas allotted to Infy/TCS/Wipro etc.

      http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/indian-techies-it-firms-fret-as-donald-trump-orders-us-visa-review/articleshow/58302182.cms

      The number is total 86000 over approx 10 year period which is like 8600 per year on an avg across all these firms. I think thats not bad.. its just fine. Like 10% slots each year across 3-4 firms.. I mean c’mon.. sounds fair enough. Too much bad blood being spewed simply cause these firms are good and visible.

      I have had the experience of working with some folks from one of these firms and they are as brilliant as any. Yes, underpaid definitely!

      I also think its the actual consultancies and not these firms who are to be blamed if the numbers are anything to go by.

      Reply

      • The number 8600 per year is not bad. But the way they reach this number is bad and unfair. For getting 8600 visas, they will file 100000+ petitions and flood the lottery system for getting better odds. Other than that, lot of people file multiple petitions with multiple body shopping consultancies (both AD and non-AD). That surges the petition count further up. So we are left with only few thousands petitons with genuine and deserving candidates.

        Reply

  5. Any update from CTS? Still i didnt receive any info from my employer. My petition was submitted. Thats the only status i got till now.

    Reply

  7. My employer raised h1B for me…
    I know he is not going to let me know the status soon

    Is there a way i can check the status myself ??

    Reply

    • You can only check your status after your employers gets the receipt notice. Uscis sends receipt notices only to those who made through the lottery. You can use the receipt number on receipt notice to check the status of your petition, but you must wait until you receive the notice.

      Reply

  8. Following this blog since the first time i applied for H1B (3 years ago).
    Finally got the good news yesterday afternoon. Cheque got cashed was told by HR.
    OPT was about to expire on july 2. This was my last attempt. One employer and one application all three times i applied.
    Best of luck to the rest

    Reply

  9. Déjà vu

    Its the same thing happening all over again.
    I am waiting too, but I have a feeling if I have not received anything yet from the law firm, I think its over.
    It is pretty demotivating and stressful every day.

    Hope we get, we all get it.

    Good luck All.

    Reply

  10. Today, I received my wife I-797C with receipt number in mail. My emplyer requested her H4 along with my H1. But, I did not hear anything from my employer/attorney against my H1B petition till date. Does that mean that my H1B is picked in the lottery. I am AD and working in US MNC. Whoever knows, please help to confirm.

    Reply

    • Yes Buddy.. Congratulations… Same thing happened with me in 2014. I received my wifes H4 receipt at home but my employer took till june end to tell about my H1.. Dont worry… if dependant us showin up..means primary application is on its way….

      Reply

      • THank you CRicket… your words mean a lot to me… I really need to get it … so many people around me worried about my visa result too… thank you again.

        Reply

        • No really, because there is no premium processing this year USCIS is taking its time. This will probably take weeks. So it’s way too early to worry.

          Reply

  13. I guess no one wants Indian tech workers, not just the US.

    https://qz.com/963530/h-1b-its-not-just-trumps-america-indian-techies-are-unwanted-from-east-to-west/?utm_source=qzfb

    Reply

  18. What Economic Times in India says : Trump’s visa squeeze puts Indian techies in firing line as TCS, Infosys cut H-1B quota

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/indian-techies-it-firms-fret-as-donald-trump-orders-us-visa-review/articleshow/58302182.cms

    Reply

  19. Why receipts for only AD applications getting issued. It is true that in both the random lottery run AD application “trump” over NON AD this year.

    Reply

  20. Hi – This is my second and last chance (AD/NON-IT/VT). I checked with the consulting lawyer today and he said the check has not been cashed. I just wanted to know if the AD checks are still getting cashed and if an AD applicant is selected in the general/non AD lottery, does USCIS prioritize such cases (sends receipt before non AD). Any information will be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, I am the only one in my organization, a government agency, for whom they have filed the H1-b petition so the lawyer is not of much help.

    Reply

  23. Well, it’s after hours all across the US, so USCIS is gonna take a weekend break from the action. You guys relax, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.

    Monday can be a brand new day!

    Reply

  28. Received a call from HR that check was cashed.

    US Master & Working for US based company for last 1.5 years on OPT.

    Hope all deserving candidates selected.

    Admins, keep up the good work.

    Reply

  31. I’m currently on OPT STEM extension. It is valid till December 2017.
    I contacted my DSO. My sevis still shows my OPT STEM receipt # and status as active. No change of status or nothing in pending.

    Does it mean game over for me? or is there still time?
    i’m AD 2nd attempt. 🙁

    Reply

  32. Hearing Non-AD People getting their check cashed. For Non-AD its too early I know, but are we able to see many checks getting cashed for Non-AD ?

    Reply

  34. Hi All,
    I am reader of redBus2US from last year. This year H1 was my 2nd attempt. I am non-AD. I have been informed by attorney that cheque has been encashed for me.

    Just wanted to share and best of luck to all mates.

    Thanks

    Reply

  35. Saurabh/Kumar,

    New to this forum and first time applicant with 9 years of exp. Any inputs till when should we ideally wait to for Non ADs. Is May first week a definite time for USCIS visa closures (lottery cheques encashment) or it can go beyond that aswell?

    Also when do they notify the employer on the applications not picked in lottery?

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Welcome to the moron’s club. ?
      You never know definite time, it depends on ur employer. Some of the companies will notify early, some will do late. By the end of july when ur package comes back then ur employer can tell u for sure that u could not make it. Till then keep up the hopes.

      Reply

      • Thanks Sunny paaji. Indeed, its no less that a circus. In hope we live!
        Just one more question, I assume a company uses one law firm to file the visas. May be the WAC are also in sequence (assumption). Do they still receive the response for selections or rejections or RFEs in phases OR thats also random like lottery.

        Thanks

        Reply

        • Lol paaji, 3 rd time waiting for lottery with AD/Non-IT/Ph.d, mean nothing of course. plzzz dont even think about return package, if no receipt aftr mid may then just forgot, beer piyo, chicken kavu aur aish karo, zindagi US hi nahi bahijaan.

          Reply

  36. My husband and I have been following this blog for the past 3 years. I got lucky on my first H1 trial last year. His was 3rd trial. We just found out from his school that his SEVIS changed to pending and they gave us his receipt number. Profile: 3rd time, AD with 120k+ salary in non IT field and company employee. Wishing all the deserving candidates good luck and patience will get you success. There is still a lot of time if you haven’t heard anything. So glad i won’t be logging in here anymore every few minutes!

    Reply

  37. I received my receipt number from university, they checked in SEVIS, which was updated on 18th April, and i checked status on USICS with that receipt number , it says we received you application on 11 th APRIL for I-129.
    Does this mean my application is picked up in lottery?
    AD/ Vermont service center.

    Reply

  39. I’m seeing too many AD (from US) have been filed for multiple H1 applications through various employers. Will USCIS re-use 100% of these abandoned/unclaimed seats? If yes, How do they do it (I mean in order to 100% utilize this, they have to first find out the duplicates and keep same number of applications aside)?

    Reply

    • I don’t think they’ll reuse it, since it’ll be after Oct those multiple filings will confirm if their status will be activated or not.

      Reply

    • Usually they go unfulfilled and get added to next year’s numbers. So if someone from India applies with 10 consultancies and 3 of them get picked, he gets 3 spots. 2 gets wasted.
      This is assuming they were all legitimate applications. If they are not and it is discovered, all the applications are void. However the picked applications spots are wasted this year.

      Reply

      • I find this highly immoral. I know this must be happening out of desperation. But, we are talking about Advanced degree folks that too from USA. (So, It has to do with mindset not related to education).

        I’m already in USA – with Advanced Degree (not from USA), an IIT Alumni, 9+ years of experience, 160K+ salary. Given the circumstances, it is a piece of cake for me to get few more employers to get multiple H1s filed.

        During my last visit to India in October 2016, I observed something similar. Due to demonetization, some currency was not easily available. But, what persons with more resources did is – they put their folks in ATM queue so that they can withdraw more money.

        I find this situation very identical to what’s happening with duplicate applications filed.

        Folks (who filed for multiple applications), please change your mindset considering you know how it feels like to wait and get rejected.

        (I don’t like to publicly criticize something. This will be my last post on this matter)

        Reply

        • You are right.
          This is a sad reality but all legal.
          Most of these companies are getting paying only 60-70k as well for work that should pay a lot more but a lot of people are desperate enough to go through this for the chance to go to US.

          Reply

  40. I got the receipt number through my attorney but when I called my DSO they are saying my SEVIS is not showing any pending status. There is no change in my SEVIS. Does it happen to anyone like this?

    Reply

  41. Modi government hits back, threatens to scrutinize the US companies operating in India !!

    http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/trumps-h1b-visa-row-modi-government-hits-back-says-us-companies-also-operate-in-india/636731/

    Reply

    • Typical Indian Mentality,,, abuse something by using it for things which it was not originally intended for. IOW, twist the law and use loopholes.

      I want every H1B aspirant to get this into their cranial cavities, that H1B was meant to bring in skills we could not find here, and not to replace people here by undercutting them. That was the original purpose and intent of the law. Yes, our govt turned a blind eye to it so far, but things have gone really too far, and the US is becoming another India at this rate.

      This is like India challenging our immigration laws, good luck with that… Dont worry if you guys at this rate go back to your stone age era, if you have a trade war with us.

      Doesn’t matter if the glass falls on the stone, or the stone falls on the glass, its the glass that gets damaged.

      Reply

      • Hey USAPatriot – This forum is for those who are willing to know the status or updates on this year H1B filings. Why are you showing your frustration in here? This is so ridiculous for you to show your anger while this forum is created for those who are seeking to hear good news.

        Sauraubh/Kumar – Don’t you guys have a provision to delete such comments and block such users who are not at all related to this forum?? I believe ImmigrationGirl forum is quite professional this way.

        Reply

        • You sure can do ! Free speech is one of the cornerstones of this country, and you could not even stand a view which is correct, and does not subscribe to your shady practices.

          No wonder its so hard for Indians to integrate in any country, but then complain about racism.

          Reply

          • @USAParrot I dont know why buddy, but you sound more like an asian guy. Perhaps Indian / Pakistani. You do not at all sound like USA Patriot. Though u really r a USA guy, by going through this forum & exhibiting frustration, you have become one of us. U actually do sound like one of us. Keep posting love ?.

            Just a gut feeling, nothing personal. ☺

      • “US is becoming another india at this rate… ”

        You, Sir, are a jerk of the highest level. what high skill did your forefathers bring to US when they migrated to America. Or are you a native to that land? It is ok for American companies to compete in indian and chinese markets against local players, disrupt local businesses but it is not ok for indian and chinese people to come and work in america and compete with you neck to neck for the same job.

        Probably a better prepared H1 employee took your job and you are venting your frustration on this forum.

        Look at the history, India and China were the richest countries with the highest GDP once upon a time and then some european countries robbed them. Its only a matter of time when these two countries gain back their position. In the meantime, compete with us on skills if you can!

        And yeah – fix that shitty and broken immigration system. Lottery for skills is as stupid as going to McD for fine dining.

        Reply

        • “India and China were the richest countries with the highest GDP once upon a time and then some european countries robbed them.” Haha. British used to control a country of 300M (India) with an army of 300K. That says enough of the quantity vs. quality….

          Reply

    • This is so ridiculous. India government hits back because American is trying to fix the h1b system that abused by Indians. I don’t understand why India government cares about the h1b so much. All the countries around the world are trying to keep the young talents except India.

      Reply

      • That’s because it’s not related to immigration, it’s related to trade and service sector
        You think US R&D won’t enjoy loopholes in India with their development centers and vertical markets.
        You have no idea how they take advantage and pay such a minimal wages.
        That being said I am not supporting thi she abusivr system but US Companirs are no saint, no wonder they dominate the market with crony capitalism

        Reply

        • How many Indian jobs have americans displaced ? You really think if American companies brought in only Americans to work in their captive centers in India, you Indians will all be quiet .

          Really American companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon etc pay minimal wages there in India ? Let me know what you are smoking, I would like to have it too…

          Its the chopshops like Infosys that pay minimal wages even in India.. the info is available in glassdoor..

          Reply

  43. guys, cheques cashing takes time …
    especially if your bank is not located nearby usics’s bank…

    Reply

    • Dude could you please let us know what is USCIS bank 🙂

      it doesn’t matter which bank you are from, if they depsoit check it takes 1~2 working days to encash.

      Reply

  44. Good luck to all other genuine applicants.

    I got my receipt # today through my employer.

    2nd time/last chance, AD/VT. 1 application

    Reply

  45. We are starting to see non-AD filing fee checks being cashed for cap-subject H-1B. No, this does not mean the AD processing is over!

    —— From Emily on Twitter

    Reply

  46. TCSers,
    VTS status changed to Green for petition filing. It is now pending with immigration authority for selection. What abt other TCSers?

    Reply

    • Fragomen told they start receiving updates from 4/18/17, even though they can check whether check is cashed or not they are telling they cant do that.

      Reply

    • Per their email to me a few days ago (4/17), they said they will only check if the checks were cashed for people who’s status expires before July 1 (my company’s specific policy). As of that day, they haven’t received any notices come in, but they were expecting them to start showing up any day and they would individuals know as soon as they could.

      Reply

  48. right article….”CTS/INFY/all other IT bigshots. You suck. You have been blocking h1b’s for deserving candidates by filing thousands of petitions even if no project exists. Its becoz of you guys the us govt is forced to take action on h1b reforms. ” CTS/INFY/TCS/WIPRO…./ all fake with brand like IT genuine cunsultancies.

    Reply

    • Also, I had read out Infosys founder statement few days back that INFY should start hiring in US not filing H1b and we can still see the result 1,99,000… I don’t think infy has reduced filing.. they are on same track what they did in previous years. Guys who are on bench, no project, 2-3 yrs of experience but still in H1B queue. Those who have more that 10-15 yrs of exp, domain experts they can’t get H1b. Lottery is just like playing cards game, person having exp or no exp doesn’t matter.

      Reply

      • Exactly, very well said!!
        Same condition here 10 years experience with domain expert!! applied 3 times H1B still not get, Let see what happens this year??

        Reply

  50. Check cleared by uscis. AD/Vermont/first time

    CTS/INFY/all other IT bigshots. You suck. You have been blocking h1b’s for deserving candidates by filing thousands of petitions even if no project exists. Its becoz of you guys the us govt is forced to take action on h1b reforms. You also pay your employees the basic pay to meet criteria.
    Fortunately your time for merry making on the h1b is done. Trump effect may be bad for Indian IT professional but look at it this way, WHO started abusing the visa.

    Reply

    • agreed. last year number of LCAs filed by Infy itslef was more than half the number of available slots. I was wondering why did they leave other 30k odd slots for rest of the world.

      Reply

    • Dude, no one with a valid visa in these companies are available in India, except for those with personal issues. Your statement “no project exists” is totally false. Hard to find internal travel ready resources based in India in any of these companies – which just means that there are projects.

      It is a known fact that all these companies played very low this year, but still the numbers are almost same as last year.

      – More MS guys thronging unknown Universities.. Gone are the days when Indians were going only to the Top tier universities of the US. You go into any college/university in even a remote place in the US, you will see a good number of Indians.
      – More and more dowry targeted guys from a specific part of India keep coming in large numbers through fake consultancies.. No visa fee increase is going to keep them down.. after all it is 1 month salary and they don’t mind shedding it out as the long term gains are more. Probably USCIS should not return the filing fee even for petitions not selected in lottery.

      Stop blaming the IT MNC’s alone. There are more abusers outside.

      Reply

      • even if you add all MS guys filing through desi consultancies, I would doubt if that will add up to 33k LCAs filed alone by Infy..
        Remember, only the people who cant get a job by normal route go through these bodyshops. As much as i hate such people, Infy/tcs are the real reason behind the mess.

        Reply

          • that stat was for last year.. so 33k in 236k.. still speaks a lot about how they have been clogging the system.

            if you add tcs, accenture, wipro etc, these companies alone file for more visas than actual available slots, thereby creating scenario for lottery.

    • Mr Big Boss,

      I am a Non-AD, third time applicant from a leading MNC.

      Congratulations on getting cleared by USCIS. AD/Vermont/first time. All are not as lucky as you are. Good that you pointed out the case of CTS/INFY/all other IT bigshots.

      But my dear friend, there is no point discussing about all that here. As this year, these big shots are also paying for the deeds they have performed earlier. The number 1,99,000 is due to the impact it had on them, courtesy Trump’s threat of policies.

      Its human psychology, even though you can not actually take decisions to make things difficult for others, but atleast you can create scenarios or a theatrical to be doing so. In either case the impact will be the same, as it would have been in real time.

      Brother, I can with great conviction tell you the number last year was 2,36,000 (around 70,000 – 76,000 Advanced Degree + 1,60,000 Non-Advanced Degree approx (THESE ARE BROAD ASSUMPTIONS).
      But this year the number of Ad’s have definitely INCREASED in COMPARISON TO Non-Ad’s. As a few of the Ad’s are trying it out for 2nd, 3rd time and a lot of them for the 1st time. But for the Non-Ad’s there is remarkable drop in the number of LCA’s actually filed for this year (Trump effect). I can tell you in my Project itself the drop is by 75 % (Out of 32 nominated cases, for ONLY 8, the LCA was filed). Just try to think in the same terms for other companies and think about a median drop of around 40-45 % approx)

      With the above analysis, I can with great belief tell you the number as is 1,99,000 (around 1,00,000 – 1,09,000 Advanced Degree + 90,000 Non-Advanced Degree approx (THESE ARE BROAD ASSUMPTIONS).

      So, you clearly see the DROP in the numbers. No, you must be wondering how did I come up with these above numbers. There are inputs from everywhere (this forum, the US MNC I work for, now in India, my friends who have applied from Infy/TCS/CTS, etc), Emily the Immigration Girl). If you have followed in the forum properly, then you won’t beg to DIFFER !

      This is what Trump did. He has “No concrete Law passed on behalf of H1B”. But his intent to make an impact on Indian IT companies surely “HAS WORKED”.

      Reply

      • Where did you get the number of advanced degree quota applications? Do you have any reliable source to contradict me when I say that the number was 30000 last year?

        Reply

        • number couldnt have been 30k last year. 30 k AD applicants would have meant around 67% chance for AD applicants (20k slots) before even going to the 65k lottery, and definitely more than 75% overall.

          However, those in US can vouch that last year approx 50-55% ADs got the visa. Which indicates atleast 80-90k applicants.

          Thats how probability and statistics work.

          Reply

          • I know how statistics and probability work.
            To be precise, if we assume that the ratio of number of seats set aside for people from Singapore and Chile to the number of applications received from these 2 countries is the same as this ratio for the rest of the world, the exact percentage would be:
            ((20000/30000) + ((1 – (20000/30000)) * (65000/(236000 – 20000)))) * 100 = 76.7 %
            USCIS does not declare the number of advanced degree applications separately. Out of 8 people that I know, 6 got selected in H1B lottery last year. Please stop making up numbers if you understand statistics and probability.

          • @Curious

            Stop with you bullshit calculation. you just spent time to calculate the probability with 30k AD and came up with number that i already spoke about.

            Your sample size is lot smaller i guess. Last yr from my class 16/30 people received the h1b, and from my group (11/18).

            Emily on immigration girl also estimated 100k applicants this year. With that number prob should be roughly 48% for AD.

            Again be my guest if u want to spend 5 more mins to calculate exact number.

Leave a Comment