We will look at the some of the common FAQs that are tied to H1B work visa for fiscal year 2019. This article will be updated with latest info as we get more info.
- H1B 2019 Season Start Date ?
- H1B Visa 2019 Quota ?
- Will there be lottery for H1B 2019 ?
- H1B 2019 Lottery date ?
- How to find H1B 2019 Sponsors ?
- H1B visa 2019 fees ?
- H1B 2019 Latest News
Update : H1B 2019, 2020 Seasons are over, H1B 2021 Season is the upcoming season. Read all details at H1B Visa 2021 – Start Date, Fee, Lottery, Registration – FAQs
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What is the H1B Visa 2019 season start date ?
Update : USCIS will start accepting H1B Petitions starting from April 2nd, 2018 as per their official update on their website. In general, USCIS starts accepting applications for the next fiscal year exactly 6 months before the start of the next fiscal year. USCIS fiscal year for 2019 starts from 1st October 2018, which means they should accept applications for FY 2019 from April 1st, 2018. As April 1st is a Sunday, USCIS should accept applications for H1B 2019 season from April 2nd, 2019.
What is H1B visa 2019 Quota for Regular and Masters filings ?
As of the date of writing of article, the H1B quota is as below. This is also called the H1B Visa Cap. You can read more at What is H1B Cap ? Regular vs Masters quota ?
- H1B Regular Quota : 65,000 visas
- H1B Master’s Quota : 20,000 visas. ( only US Masters eligible)
Also, of the overall 85,000 visa cap, every year 6,800 visas are set aside for the citizens of Singapore and Chile as part of the Free Trade Agreement with them. There were few bills part of Comprehensive Immigration Reform that are not active in Senate that were proposed from Obama administration days to change the cap count to 110,000 and Masters to 25,000, including potential to make H1B cap extend up to 180,000. But nothing has moved and all are dormant. Nothing new has been proposed by the new Trump Administration regarding changing cap count. To get a glimpse of historical cap count changes, you may check H1B visa cap count history from 1990 to 2017
Will there be Lottery for H1B 2019 season ? Lottery Predictions ? Filing Numbers ?
Update : USCIS had lottery for FY 2019 quota and received 190,098 petitions.
Looking at the historical trend of H1B filings, cap reach dates, it is quite possible that we would have lottery for FY 2019 quota. We have written a detail article looking at historical data, Trump administration new policies like ‘Buy American, Hire American’, students on OPT, H4 EAD removal rule, etc. factors. To know the prediction numbers and details, read the article: H1B Visa 2019 Lottery Predictions – Analysis, Graphs .
When is H1B Visa 2019 Lottery Date ?
Update : USCIS Conducted Lottery for FY 2019 on April 11, 2018.
There are two things, one is when the H1B petitions are accepted for the lottery and second is when the actual lottery is done. H1B visa petitions for next fiscal year would be accepted by USCIS from April 2nd, 2018 for 5 working days until April 6th, 2018 to be part of the lottery. Now, the actual lottery date depends on various factors depending the volume of petitions and USCIS load. It can be anywhere in second week of April. For FY 2018, the actual H1B Lottery was done on April 11th, 2017 . We can expect anywhere around the same date like April 11th or April 13th.
How to find H1B visa 2019 Sponsors ?
It can be very hard to find a good employer and convince them to sponsor H1B to work in US with major unknown like H1B Visa lottery. Anyways, you would be in one of the three scenarios, if you are seeking a H1B Sponsor.
- F1 Student in US : You can find an internship or co-op at an employer who can sponsor H1B visa and ask them to sponsor your H1B. You can continue to work on OPT once you graduate as well. You find the list of H1B Sponsoring companies using the tool
- International Professionals : If you are outside of US, it can be tricky with all the latest rules by Trump administration. Your best bet is to find an multi-national company ( MNC) and work through them to sponsor H1B visa. You may have hurdles inside the company with all the internal process, many waiting, etc. But, it is up to you to negotiate and ask them to take a chance. Many try the IT body shop route, where they ask them to file H1B. Rules have changed in the last few years and it is very risky move and can jeopardize your US hopes. Read comments on this H1B Companies Reviews article to get an idea and beware of such consulting companies to avoid fraud.
- Important Note : We, as RedBu2US, DO NOT Provide any H1B sponsorship or guide anyone using professional services or fee. If anyone approaches you by saying our name, it is pure FRAUD…beware !
If you are looking for more details, check out Guide on How to Find H1B Visa Sponsors 2019
What is H1B 2019 Filing Fee ?
H1B visa petition filing involves USCIS fee towards certain things and attorney fees, which varies by company size, and attorney involved for the case. As of FY 2018 season, it can range anywhere from $1,600 USD to $7,400 USD + Attorney Fee. In year 2016, for FY 2018, the H1B base filing fees, increased from $325 to $460. Below table is a high level summary from FY 2018 quota as of writing, it maybe subject to change as we approach towards the filing date. If any changes, we will update this accordingly. Also, you can Read Summary of H1B Filing Fee – Who pays for What ? .
| H1B Fee – Paid Towards | Amount 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 2019 Case Tracker :
Did you work with attorney and sent all documents to apply for FY 2019 ? 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 !
- Add your case at H1B Visa Tracker
What’s the latest news on H1B Visa 2019 ?
Below are some of the major news updates on H1B 2019 season. You can check H1B Visa 2019 Cap Count Tracker – Latest News Updates for full details
- Jan 25, 2019 ( Official News ) : USCIS did a press release that Premium Processing Resumed for H1B 2019 Cap Petitions
- July 30th, 2018 ( Official News ) : USCIS announced that they have returned all the H1B 2019 petitions that were not selected in lottery. They gave guidance that, if you have filed for FY 2019 and has not received a receipt notice or rejected package by August 13th, 2018, they can contact USCIS. More info at USCIS News Alert
- May 15, 2018 ( Official News ) : USCIS Completed Data Entry for H1B 2019 Lottery Selected Petitions
- April 12, 2018 ( Official News ) : USCIS announces H1B Lottery Completed, 190K petitions filed.
- April 6, 2018 ( Official News ) : Press alert saying that USCIS Reached Cap for FY 2019 Quota
- March 23, 2018 ( Official News ) USICS announces new policy memo with guidance on Related entities for H1B Duplicate petitions
- March 20, 2018 ( Official News) : USCIS accepts H1B 2019 petitions from April 2nd, Premium Process Suspended till Sept 10, 2018.
- Feb 22, 2018 ( Official News ): USCIS released a new memo with additional requirements for H1B petitions filed for third party worksite locations. These new rules are very extensive asking for work orders, contracts, client letter itinerary, etc. and will have huge impact on H1B 2019 quota filings. Read completed details with impact info at New Policy Memo Third Party worksite H1B Petitions – Requirements, Impact.
- January 25,2018 : (Unofficial News) : AILA updated to their members that there will NOT be any procedural changes for FY 2019 season. You can read more details at AILA News USCIS – No Procedural Changes for FY 2019
- December 2017 : There are many speculations floating around based on the proposals and bills in senate and house by Trump administration. We just have to wait and see what happens. We will track all the news and update here for everyone’s update.
You can bookmark this page and check this page for updates on H1B FY 2019 season.
Do you have any questions on next H1B 2019 season ?
I heard that USCIS is planning to allocate a specific number of seats only for female applicants to promote women empowerment. Is this true? Someone pls answer me. Men have dominated women over the years. It’s really unfair to have an equal competition now
I hope this is a pun intended comment. If USCIS has to make it FAIR, they would first do so by putting per country cap on H1B.
You should probably join a not-for-profit organization which works in women empowerment. Then there would be no cap and you would beat the shit out of the dominant men.
Yeah. It is true. The latest memo from USCIS says it will accept petitions only from women. If men submits petition, they will be denied and fee will not be returned. It is predicted that due to this change, US companies will incur a loss of $100 bn due to reduced productivity of women only workers.
Why would they do it for foreigners? They would more like to see American women empowered than someone coming from other country on temporary work visa.
For H1b there is no reservations. They have to allocate some quota for Dalits, Patels , Jatts , OBC etc .. Otherwise the people belongs to these category needs to start some protests .?
You forgot what h1b is! it is temporary work visa not Rajya sabha or loksabha to shout for women reservation bill
I wish there was a like button here.
“Loksabha or Rajyasabha” comment just made my day.
LOL.
I heard the comments from you that you applied from 3 companies this year and now you want women reservation also in h1b……
Come on guys.You don’t even know the struggles a girl has to undergo to come to US for Masters.Its much easier for guys.I had to fight so much to come for my Masters.And regarding me filing 3 applications, I did not force my employer to file for me.I paid for my own applications just like how I pay my own bills.I am a beautiful girl.I could have settled being a house wife married to a US guy. But I want to be independent and I am struggling to win the battle on my own.Thank you so much for all the rude comments.
“I did not force my employer to file for me.I paid for my own applications just like how I pay my own bills.”
Shameless.. I sincerely hope USCIS catches you and invokes your one more year OPT as well.
You occupy 3 Adv spots, how dare you!
USCIS will certainly find out and revoke both your OPT and all your H1b applications!
Gayathri. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Everybody has gone through problems and everyone has worked hard in one way or other. Even with 3 legit applications, your chances are not 100%.
If you are smart, you can survive even on mars.
Oh come on you have no I idea what some men go thru. Dont judge people you dont know likewise we dont judge you.
Employer has to file for h1b not you and looks like youre feeling pseudo pride in paying for h1b which is illegal in itself. Who cares whether youre beautiful outside beauty lies in inside at heart. Dont marry a US guy for visa /GC and make his life terrible.
Gayathri,
If you get selected in the lottery prepare for a RFE followed by a cool denial. Sketchy companies that accept payment from employees no longer stand a chance of getting an H-1B.
Besides, are you even sure they filled the papers? Maybe they just take the money from dumb people and don’t even bother to file the papers (why bother wasting money on a denial)
I am totally with you.
But can you please explain me the logic of why you stopped at only 3 ? You must have applied for at least 10 more h1b.
If you paid for your petition for H1B then there itself you’re breaking the rules of H1B petition.
As a girl I think you should be ashamed of your comment. It’s just nothing but ridiculous.
Don’t waste time guys. I think Gayathri is just a troll.
Guys, What do you think are the chances of getting picked in lottery for someone without advanced degree based on the analysis?
Not bad as previous years if its legit.
That is for sure. I was asking about the numbers.
Go check for yourself at pickatub.com
46.42%
Hi,
My employer shared my lca and i cross checked in myvisas.com with the employer name and with the case id.As lca doesn’t have my name mentioned in it. How can we confirm he filed it for me???
This loophole has helped all desi consultancies to buy Tesla’s and big estatehomes inUS. Trust is the only factor here.
LCA will not have your name. Check salary, position etc to verify its yours
There is no way you can know that LCA is for you. Only way is to get USCIS case number, if selected in lottery or if not picked in lottery, reject notice that is on your name.
I tried searching on
https://lcr-pjr.doleta.gov/index.cfm?event=ehLCJRExternal.dspAdvCertSearch
I do not see an option for FY2019. Also the website suggests that they only show search results when the result size is less than 1000.
How did you find the number of LCA for FY2019?
You choose FY2018 (or anything else) then manually change the start/end dates
I replied to you on immigrationgirl too 😀
You are omnipresent!
Hello All,
I know someone who is going through a consultancy paying them for the H1B Visa.
I don’t know the name of the consultancy but I know the person. How can I report so that the whole consultancy goes down ? And they can’t put these paid filings in the lottery . Please let me know
Thank you
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/combating-fraud-and-abuse-h-1b-visa-program
Send a letter to President Trump.
Dont forget to mention that fraud person’s name in the letter and his father name also.
lol.. Why not his uncle , aunt, niece, nephew
Guys,
Is it possible that USCIS just stop accepting applications within 2-3 days of opening the windows. Let’s say by Wednesday. Do they have that power?
I mean they can clearly see the pattern since several years now that it exceeds 100 K applications within 2 days and we are watching that USCIS this time around is taking a lot of actions based on patterns of last years . All the memos and everything
No. USCIS is required to accept petitions received during the first five business days of April and treat them as if they are received on the same day.
It just doesn’t make sense . They know already that it is gonna exceed. This could be a very effective measure to reduce the amount of applications rejected due to not coming in lottery. Surely they must about this.
How exactly would that help? Everyone would just apply the first two days instead then
with my experience with FedEx and UPS, you need that 5 days period 😀
No, as per current regulation, they need to accept for 5 business days. Check H1B Lottery article for official links and regulation details
Kumar,
you are right.
THAT’S A PITY !
So tomorrow you will be asking USCIS should stop accepting any applications after receiving the first 85,000 applications even if it is within the first few hours of Day 1? What If Fedex and UPS have their delivery Window at the Service Centers early in the day, and USPS typically delivers later in afternoon? With Fedex and UPS delivery itself, there may have been 85k applications and USPS applications should be refused?
Think about logistics before suggesting weird ideas.
Putting a perspective on the “BIG IT CONSULTANCIES”
Top-consultancy LCAs in 2016 ( New employment, certified) = 10, 779 ( INFOSYS LIMITED)
Top-consultancy LCAs for two years combined (2017-2018) = 8, 230
So we can see that on average number went down from 10,779 to 4,115 (8230 / 2). That’s a big shift if you ask me.
BTW Infosys filed only 6,122 for 2017-2018 combined. Big Drop !!
I hope most of the LCAs are transfer not new petitions since they are holding so many visas from previous years.
2019,
These numbers I have put in above are for new employment and not for transfers or anything else.
How do you know that ?
Please find my comment below about the procedure
Nice analysis. But if it is true for all big Indian IT firms (mainly Infosys, cognizant, TCS, Wipro who apply in large numbers), in Apr 2017 lottery the numbers would have gone down significantly but it did not (~199K). This means that either people are filing many multiple petitions or the number of genuine candidates are ~150K. This will become clear in this year’s lottery.
Not all of them would have reduced it considerably. All the commotion started last year very near to H1b season so they would have reduced the applications but not considerably. About the Infosys, they came under fire directly with all those briefings. No one was expecting these many RFEs and certainly not the suspension of PP. They would have lost money. I hope the numbers we saw for 2017-18 in the analysis belongs to 2017 more than 2018.
This time around they would have planned to be more conservative with the applications. Hopefully.
Wipro only 200 ?
Wipro Number,
I am looking at 1,503 new employment LCAs for Wipro for Calender year 2017-2018 combined.
Not sure where you looking at.
Literally every single LCA of HCL includes 5, 10 or 20 positions.
So, definitely this LCA number cannot be trusted as final.
Hey Rezee,
I didn’t understand 1 LCA getting attached to various positions?
Can you explain?
Also 1 LCA = 1 H1b application ,right? or is it possible to apply for multiple h1bs for 1 lca? I don’t think so
Multiple h1b possible to be applied with 1 LCA. Filter HCL and check their LCA. Each of them is filed for at least 5 new positions and sometimes 10 or even 20.
You are right, good number of them is applied to 10 workers.
Thats a good info we got here.
Thanks
HCL with the same strategy of filing 1 LCA for multiple H1bs
2016 – 208 LCAs
2017-2018 combined – 65 LCAs
Still, a good amount of drop considering 65 is a 2 year total.
Not sure where you are checking. I counted about 670 applications from HCL for 2019 alone. That would approximately be almost 600*5 = 3000 h1b applicants for 2019 lottery.
Rezee,
Is the 670 LCA an overall number of you are filtering it out to New Employment ?
My source is myvisajobs.com
Myvisajobs is not updated with 2019 LCA data yet.
They include only previous year filings.
Check for latest numbers in the link that Sam shared.
Is this the link :
https://lcr-pjr.doleta.gov/index.cfm?event=ehLCJRExternal.dspAdvCertSearch
I don’t see an FY 2019 in the drop down. Please let me know how to proceed with the certification dates as well. Really would like to cross check things.
On myvisajobs.com, I can clearly see Sept 2017 – 2020 and Sept 2018- 2021 certification dates so it is for FY 2018 and FY 2019 in that case when doing it for the calendar year 2017 – 2018. I have also seen other ppl LCAs and mine too on it applying this year.
I am searching it for the tab H1b jobs (current) and not H1b jobs (Legacy). According to them, legacy is updated on a quarterly basis so it is not updated yet and will get updated on March 31 or 1st April. We may know then about the LCA number from Jan- March and filter it accordingly.
Current is updated daily so i am looking at 2017-2018 calender numbers
Just leave the default as 2018. Why are you looking for a drop-down value that is not there ? 2018 shows all filings for 2019 h1b lottery.
Myvisajobs is not updated with latest lca values. Check the dates in the lca. They are all from last year.
1)Can the same LCA be used for Multiple H1B Applications if it filed for ” N ” Positions ? Any Source if YES or NO
2)Will the same LCA being shared to all the applicants ?
It’s 200 new aLCA for 2018
I cant go beyond 30th Sept 2018 on end date range. How can we stretch it to 2021 Sept . to check out LCAs for that date range?
BeStrong,
Manually enter values in the date field.
Good point from another blog, quote: “
We probably can expect one of hundreds of fraud petitions filed by consulting companies gets exposed then those hundreds of petitions will get carefully scrutinized.
Multiple filing guys, YOU might be screwed by other people’s petitions by linking to the same consulting company!“
It is very likely USCIS will be able to find out since the majority of the beneficiaries are associated with more than one petitions!
Interesting numbers for US Masters:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/29/h-1b-visa-approvals-by-us-metro-area/
I copied into excel the table at the end of the link above, did a sumproduct in excel and came up with an overall 13.6% of applicants have US Master’s degree. If we apply this to last year – 199K*13.6%=27K (this is an assumption given that the 13.6% applies to 2010-2016)
If we assume that US Master’s applicants will fall by 15% (likely given the big overall drop) – This year we will see about 23K Master’s. If we add the extra petitions that USCIS adds (to compensate for the denials), we are getting very close to the Master’s quota not filling up
My assumptions are probably too rosy, but still, there is a real possibility that at least US Master’s won’t go through the lottery…
And the link is from pew research, so we know it’s trustworthy.
It might not be true about Masters. 2015 was highest number of international students arrived, around 75K indians who most probably apply for H1B. 2016 their was decrease and 2017 also their was a decrease. If on average student complet their masters program in 2 years, basically 2017 May or end of the year they might have graduated. And economy also growing, so most probably lot of people would have found their job. So technically we should experience highest number of Masters students this year cap. From next year onwards it should go down.
Franc,
I think the quota from the previous year is added to the general cap, not the master cap, since the 20,000 masters are considered to be “cap exempt”.
According to Immigration girl (Emily) , USCIS adds approx 5,000 Masters and 10,000 in general. Getting the selected number to 100,000 (85,000 +5,000+10,000).
LCA ,Franc,
I run few searches on DOL LCA website. Found some interesting stuff.
Certification date:
Start Date Range:
work start date from From:
04/01/2018
work start date to To:
10/01/2018
End Date Range:
work end date from From:
04/01/2019
work end date to To:
09/30/2021
Certification date:
Total 234,682
Interesting some of the the outsourcing companies have filed LCA between these Start date between apr and aug. Mostly its cognizant almost all of their petitions rest of them bombed aug-oct . HCL has stayed low profile
(apr and august)
Congnizant has flooded with 4,869 petitions.
rest Infosys 1,452
TCS 1,246
Accenture 62
HCL 513
capgemini 198
between august and oct cognizant has filed just 4 LCA
Their overall total is 4873 from apr to october.
(august and oct)
Infosys overall 3,246
HCL 713
Accenture 1,176
CApgemini 2,489
TCS 6,243
I hope Extension/ transfer diff has exponentially increased otherwise it going to look like last year.
Sam,
New H1B cannot start before Oct 1st since that’s when the new H1B season begins. Unless you are seeing for example Apr or Aug of the next year (2020 in this case), they will have to be transfers.
Also remember to eliminate few cases for who start at apr and end at apr itself. I just took a comprehensive look until sept 30th as end date.
google 3,129
Facebook 761
intel 1,514
qualcomm 510
linkedin 263
MS 2,430
Dell 319
Forgot tech mahindra 3,667
wipro 1,598
IBM 3,135
worst case scenario
234,682 + 5 * 7000 = 269682
269682 – diff (70000 ) = 199000
we may land up like previous year.
can any one tell me what is the LCA count if we include work start date from may 2018. thanks
Need a suggestion
This year my employer is filing h1. Case was created in inszoom portal. How can i check if it is really filing or not for FY2019?
King,
go to myvisajobs.com and search for your employer there. You will find your LCA there in case you dont get lost among a lot of LCAs applied by your company.
Admins and Veterans, is it normal to have 25% regular and 75% Masters applications in H1b Case tracker? this is roughly same for a week now.
It used to be other way around 75% Regular and 25% masters. In general, the tracker gets attention after April 1st week. Now, not many users take interest to fill it up…After the waiting game starts, people contribute more actively to the tracker.
Hi ,
I have a question related to H1b Visa Expiry . i have H1b application for 2017 Year. The Petition End date is Aug 2018. I am going for a visa interview next month. will i be issued a full 3 Year Visa or only till my petition end date ?
Till your petition validate date i.e. Aug 2018. Once you arrive in US, your employer has to file H1B extension.
Guys,
I went to myvisajobs.com and put down the following filters for the LCAs ;
Search LCA for H1B Visa(Current System)
Filters :
Visa : H1b
Renew Type : New Employment
Calendar Year : 2017 – 2018 (Basically all the LCA from 2017 to current date
for new H1bs)
Status : Certified
The search returned 317,788 results
I did the same for FY 2016 . Search returned 237,605 results. Actual petitions were 236000 for that year. So it looks ok.
So if last year petitions were = 199000 for FY 2018
This year = 317,788 – 199000
= 1,18,788 !!!!!!!!
myvisajobs.com update it every day. So, i dont see it rising up now for the new employment. Or it may grow incase it depends on LCA website data which lags a week. In that case, i would add 12 -15 K more
So total is coming to 133 K !!!!!!!!
I HOPE !!!
dont go with my visa jobs. I dint see my LCA (this year) there so went to official site.
Some frauds are trying to spread fake news here
oooh someone from fox news is here….
I did for 2015 and 2014. It doesnt match 🙂
Oh Ok,
I did it for H1b FY 2016 and found out 225,672 results (New employment and certified) vs the actual result of 2,33,000 so it definitely seems off.
But I just did the analysis to get a big picture for the CAP H1bs as I was not able to do that on the official website. I am not saying it is 100%.
I did check my LCA, my friends’ LCAs, my previous LCAs and it were in the system. Plus I know about the history of my previous company so I was able to see whether the system is able to differentiate between new applicants and renewals.
Just wanted to cross-check our approximations of 130 K (- /+ 10%) and it seems on track.
It’s Actually shown as 232,654 vs the actual result of 2,33,000 so it seems a bit closer for H1B FY2016
We seem to be settling down to 130K – 140 K application this year (fingers crossed). If we believe Emily, there are gonna select 100 K. That seems to be really really good.
If you are Masters candidate like me, the probability looks strong !!!
I found out that most of the US grads I know personally got selected last year. In 2016, none of them get in. So I am not sure how USCIS internal system works. Nobody knows.
Hoping for the best.
What about H4s applying for H1bs as they think H4 status might be revoked in near future? I think all of us are are discounting this fact.
I think maybe 15-20k additional cases like these should be considered this year.
I dont know anything about H4. I’m single!
it would have been much more in previous years. I would seriously doubt why real employers will be willing to spend money on H4 to H1 application when H4 can still work and they can use same money for new H1 applications.
Coming to consultancies and H4 paying for their own H1, I think they will be shooting their own foot by doing this.
Latest LCA number is 168,830
FY2019 168,830 ???,???
FY2018 252,192 199,000
FY2017 264,930 236,000
FY2016 240,167 233,000
FY2015 192,503 172,500
We know that the total LCA number is 168,830.
Assuming your calculation of 118,788 is correct, that brings the difference between LCA and H1B petitions to 50,042.
Compare to previous years:
FY2019 168,830 (118,788?)(130,000?) Diff = (50,042?)(38,830?)
FY2018 252,192 199,000 Diff = 53,192
FY2017 264,930 236,000 Diff = 28,930
FY2016 240,167 233,000 Diff = 7,167
FY2015 192,503 172,500 Diff = 20,003
If you look back in the comments, there’s some analysis done by me and Franc that concludes that LCA for transfers should generally go up over the years. So, your calculation looks plausible.
I kept diff at 40K but it will be about 60-80k for sure.
176674 + (5*7000 worst scenario for next week LCA ) – 65000 = 146674
we end same ball park figure under 150K .
This is not bad.probality of picking is high as a master fella also as they pick more than cap (>15000 (orev year value) as they would trash 1131 petitions, majority of 3rd party petitions and duplicate filings and cover up for FY18 denials /wtds etc.
Overall its positive…. all that is required is we being positive.
Even if you keep diff at 50K it will be 160K..
I really doubt it being anywhere below 130K
Hopefully the LCA’s won’t increase by 7K each day next week, that would be really scary…
Also, the difference will be at an all time high – the waiting list for green cards keeps on growing (=more active H1B’s -> more transfers). And companies are more focused on renewing current H1B and hiring people already on H1B than sponsoring new ones from scratch.
Let’s hope for a total of ~185K LCA’s, minus 50K transfers, renewals, -> 135K petitions…
Also, what about the consultancies that failed to get customer’s signature? Will they waste money on a direct denial that won’t even include RFE??
On the other hand, the “real cap” could include about 10K excessively rejected last year plus a 20% expected rejection rate – (85K+10K)/.8=118K
But this is probably way too optimistic. And this waiting is too cruel and the lottery feels like a mean way to play with people’s lives… And I can’t accept the idea of being forced to return to Europe because of a random lottery…
Hi ,
I have 3 offers from 3 companies who are not related , 2 are different clients and one is In house . Is that valid based on the new memo?
USCIS original memo
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2018/2018-3-23-PM-602-0159-Matter-of-S-Inc-Adopted-Decision-Package.pdf
Background of memo(Circumstances or cases that led)
In its notice of intent to revoke (NOIR) the petition, the Director found the Petitioner and C- LLC
were “related entities” that filed H-1B petitions for the same Beneficiary in violation of the above
rule. The Director found that the petitions were filed during the same fiscal year for the same
Beneficiary to work in substantially the same job for the same end-client through the same two
vendors.3
The Director also observed the similar, and at times identical, evidence submitted by the
two petitioners for the Beneficiary.
IV. CONCLUSION
The Petitioner and a related entity filed multiple H-1B cap-subject petitions for the Beneficiary and
did not demonstrate a legitimate business need to do so. The Director properly revoked the approval
of the petition pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(11)(iii)(A)(5).
How USCIS derives if jobs or positions or identical
Whether two jobs are “substantially the same” is an issue of fact that we
5 The term “such as” introduces examples of what may be considered “related entities.” The common dictionary
definition of the term “such as” is “used to introduce an example or series of examples.” See, e.g., Merriam-Webster
Dictionary (2018), available at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/such%20as (last visited Mar. 22, 2018).
3
Matter of S- Inc. Adopted Decision
determine based on the totality of the record. Some factors relevant to relatedness may include
familial ties, proximity of locations, leadership structure, employment history, similar work
assignments, and substantially similar supporting documentation. The Petitioner cautioned that
reading the rule to include petitioners, whether or not related through corporate ownership and
control, could ensnare companies that can be found “related” for any number of “unspecified
reasons.” The Petitioner’s concerns are misplaced. We are not concerned with petitioning employers
who have any quantum of a relationship. Two unwitting companies would not likely have the
requisite similitude to trigger the bar. But the more similarities in the records, the more likely the
companies were seeking to undermine the purpose of the random lottery process.
Paying money for h1b is illegal..
Fresh Applicant,
Are you one of the guys who is going through consultancies located in Hyderabad. Stay away, please. USCIS is out screwing the Hyderabad business !!
DAYS ARE NUMBERED !!
Admin. I heard that we cannot file multiple applications this year.I am working in Company A. Company B & C are A’s clients. All 3 companies are filing my H1b for this year. Will this be a problem? I hope not because its 3 different companies. We are planning to send the applications out on 31st. I have paid so much of money for each H1b application. Someone pls help me out in this situation. This is my second attempt and I have only 1 more attempt.
Your situation is by definition what USCIS is looking for… Don’t file the two extra otherwise all three will get denied.
“After notice, we will deny or revoke the approval of all H-1B cap-subject petitions filed for one beneficiary by “related entities” unless there is a legitimate business need. buff.ly/2J3OfEz”
USCIS will do all data entry including cases not selected, by filtering your passport info they will certainly find out all three cases and challenge them all
USCIS has received so many fraud reports last year, all the tricks will be exposed and bad players digged out
There is a basis for challenge ,only when they find that the employees are affiliated or related and filing for same client through different vendors!The criteria is not arbitrary!
USCIS random selection is not as simple as clubbing all applications and running lottery!The applications are spread across 6 service centres!By pure probability and math there could be a chance that only 2-3 get the entire lot of applications while the remaining get next to nothing!So application scrutiny could be per service Center!
Of course A&B&C are related since B&C are clients
quote from an attorney “If your employer is a consulting company that placed you at company A, then there is absolutely a relationship between the employer and company A in the form of a contract. There is only one position and you should not do this.”
If they do data entry, of course data will be shared among different service centers. In fact they already started this last year.
USCIS is well aware of all the body shop model and big IT firms using smaller companies to avoid extra fees. Or where do you think those memos come from?
The client should be different for all of them A B C ! A B C should not mention same project same client same responsibilities! USCIS may ussue an RFE as to why 3 different petitions are filed for same employeee for same role
Don’t file multiple petitions, or you can only get endless attorney bills for dealing with RFEs and ends up denial (Plus you need to show this record in future applications)
And if you’re on OPT, you may lose your one more chance since COS denial may cause that
This is an existing rule nothing new but the enforcement may be stringent!If the companies are related,there is a likely hood of getting RFE
https://www.murthy.com/2014/09/25/noids-for-virtually-identical-cap-subject-h1b-petitions/
Plus this “I have paid so much of money for each H1b application.” good luck for the RFEs and eventual rejections !!
Also, USCIS definitely maintained a database last year even for rejected applications. I wont be supersized to see blanket RFEs in 2018-19 solely because of the reason- one passport; two or more applications. Anybody who is thinking of Duplicate (or so called multiple) applications should read H1B 2018 comments section for RFEs and rejections.
You paid money!!! Now That’s undoubtedly fraud and illegal. And they all indeed look ‘related’ as per new memo. There is good chance you will loose all your money. You guys should go through all blogs and experiences before blindly trusting these h1b shops.
On top of that I don’t understand why you keep quoting you paid a lot of money. As an employee H1B petition fees can only be provided by the employer. If you’re paying for it then you’re breaking the rules.
Good News who are not filing multiple petitions with different empolyers.. they will be in the lottery pool. we don’t know too how the internal lottery system.. works..
but.. 20k petitions will be in garbage who are applying for multiple employers with even-though different clients.. its comming on to you guys…
I believe multiple petitions are accepted .Duplicate means same company filing two petitions for one employee. If two different employers are filing for one employee with different positions that will be multiple petitions . I don’t know if there is any new policy for this CAP. Do you have any link ??
http://immigrationgirl.com/new-memo-reiterates-uscis-policy-on-filing-an-h-1b-in-the-lottery-with-more-than-one-employer-to-increase-your-chances/
Multiple petitions will be denied if the two jobs are deemed to be “substantially same”
I have gone through the USCIS memo!it refers to a consular decision on a case where two different companies with similar supporting documentation filed h1 for same client!The two petitions got denied and this judgement would serve as basis for similar cases!Different employers different clients is still valid!
Venkatesh,
I have gone though the memo!Its an existing rule that prohibits a company filing though sister companies or affiliates for same client position!USCIS will issue a NOID if the two employers colluded for better odds in lottery!the basis is similarities in supporting documentation specially the same client
Venkatesh seems to be paying money to Hyderabad consultancies. The game is Over, you guys!
Smell it
I’m just a little bit concerned that those fraudsters and their fraudulent consultancies will still go ahead and apply knowing that they won’t get it but to screw up the other people by increasing the number of applications in the lottery pool. Like if I can’t get it so shouldn’t you kind of mindset
😀 that will be a good revenue for USCIS then !!
LCA is done Ron. They cant increase any applications now. Only thing they can do is to not apply , thats all
USCIS may blacklist consultancy engaging in malpractices as they did this year
Few weeks from now this place will turn into a war zone for non-AD and AD people…
🙂
Winter is coming…
More for those who are planning for duplicate filings.. two days left to revisit your plans!
http://immigrationgirl.com/new-memo-reiterates-uscis-policy-on-filing-an-h-1b-in-the-lottery-with-more-than-one-employer-to-increase-your-chances/
Time to pull back all the duplicate filings!
An employer may not file, in the same fiscal year, more than one H-1B petition on behalf of the same alien if the alien is subject to the numerical limitations of section 214(g)(1)(A) of the Act or is exempt from those limitations under section 214(g)(5)(C)
WONDERFUL!
Saw that!!!! HAHA too sweet…
hahahah YASSS!!! This update made my day so far !! 😀
I think the Memo has come out really late. People and consultancies who are going to file duplicates will file.
If USCIS would have put this memo out a week earlier, things may have been different. You would have seen the number of LCA filed low too, just a tad!
I dont think this is new memo. This is same as previous years.
3rd Timer,
It is a new memo:
A new Policy Memorandum issued last Friday clarifies that the term “related entities” includes petitioners, whether or not related through corporate ownership and control, that file cap-subject H-1B petitions for the same beneficiary for substantially the same job. Absent a legitimate business need to file multiple cap-subject petitions for the same beneficiary, USCIS will deny or revoke the approval of all H-1B cap-subject petitions filed by “related entities” for that beneficiary.
Well H1B application usually go out on Friday (anything arrives earlier than Apr 2nd gets discarded), so they definitely still have time to react
NO its not too late.. April 1st……..is the date
April 1st is Sunday this year. gates open on Monday, April 2nd.
I couldn’t find this in USCIS website
1. Estimated number of LCA’s by end of this week – 170K (based on Sam Whittaker’s comments)
2. Last year we had 252K LCA’s and 199K petitions – 53K difference – assuming same difference – this year we would have 170K-53K=117K petitions
3. USCIS accepts more than 85K petitions under the assumption that some will be denied. Assuming that last year 20% were rejected, the “actual cap” will be about 85K/0.8=106K
4. Assuming last year we lost 2K for Chile and Singapore, this year we would have a 106K-2K=104K cap (USCIS takes 6,800 and adds the unused from previous year)
5. Assuming also that 50% of the 117K are US Masters
So… if you have a US Masters and under the above assumptions, your chances of getting selected in the lottery are …
1-(1-(20/0.8)/(50%*117))*(1-((65-2)/0.8)/(117-20/0.8))=92%
I’m also hopping that some of the LCA’s were made by outsourcing companies before the Feb22 memo, and that many failed to secure customer letters and therefore won’t bother to apply for H-1B’s… So the 170K may be overestimating all this
The number of H1 transfers could also have reduced this year. So this 53K difference may not be as high this year. I would give 20 or 30 K difference.
I agree. 53K sounds a bit of a stretch.
Also, I am not sure if USCIS actually selects more number of applications based on last year’s rejections. I know they select more but the number is unknown.
Very good analysis though!!
Lawyers get to know the exact number. because uscis informs AILA .
some LCAs requests 10 or 20 H1b positions… You need to take this into account. However, I’m hoping big ITs doing more transfers instead of new petitions as a result of 22nd memo and suspend of premium processing for cap applications…
Anyway, looks better than last year for sure!
Your assumption #2 should be on a percentage/proportionate basis rather than an absolute one. 199/252 = .79 or 79%. 79% * 170k = 134k.
Either way, as a US Master Cap applicant… here’s to hoping you’re right!
Using proportion is definitely a better way than absolute number, but even that metric is changing over the years: 2015-89.61%, 2016-97.02%, 2017 – 89.34% and 2018-78.91%. Assuming the same trend from 2016, we are looking somewhere ~ 72% applications/LCAs. However, if # of LCA are going down so much, I wont be surprised by much higher ratio.
I thought using proportions, linear regressions…
The idea behind subtracting is that the 252K to 170K drop in LCA’s is mainly coming from new applications, and that transfers are remaining about flat
But yes, the 92% is my ‘best case scenario’. Most likely is about 80% and worst case is about 70%.
Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed all the way through
Also, UCSIS does accept more than 85K applications based on denials from previous years
Check this link – point 3 – https://www.uscis.gov/outreach/notes-previous-engagements/uscis-national-stakeholder-january-meeting-0
Franc,
I think transfers actually don’t stay flat, instead they go up each year. Since the number of current H1B holders in the US goes up by 85,000 each year (of course some leaves too), each year there’s a larger base to be transferred, so it makes sense that transfers go up over time.
This coincidences with the trend of the data, and I don’t think this works as a percentage.
Yeah number is growing up every year like kim kardashians. This year it should growup to Stormy Daniels level I will be happy 🙂
Good! few more things to note.
1. Last year petitions picked in lottery were around 100000 (according to emily) 15000 more than cap.
2. From worktheme Denials and withdrawals touched 21000. It could be more not all status are being updated by uscis online.
3. Assume they pick 78000 for FY18 for 85000 cap. They have to cover up 7k this year.
4. This time after 3 party memo there will be many denials for those kind of petitions. Like last time they pick 15K more + 7K (cover up) around 110000 petitons.
Another thing,
LCA and USCIS announcements and diff for previous years
2018 : 252166 –> 199000 = 53166
2017 : 264,860 –> 236000 = 28860
2016 : 240146–> 233000 = 7146
This time high probility if diff increasing than 53166. For safer side I took 40000
So 170000 – 40000 = 130K
110 K picked out of 130K cooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!!
Still lets take little worst case scenario and park the number 160K .
LCA,
That’s an awesome point!
The number of active H-1B keeps on growing every year because the waiting lines to get green card from Indians and Chinese applicants gets bigger every year. So it makes sense to assume that the number of transfers actually goes up…
The difference between LCA’s and H-1B’s petitions therefore should get higher every year (in theory)
This strengthens my assumption #2 that petitions should be lower than 120K
Also, the actual cap being about 85K/.8+7K=113. (based on my comment below)
We are getting excitingly close to the “No Lottery Territory”
I know I’m being super optimistic (and maybe delusional…), but odds are on our side this year… Fingers crossed…
Franc,
Our calculations are pretty solid. We are on right track. Are you a master applicant too?
Let’s hope so… the stress and waiting are killing me.
And my productivity at work is collapsing, yesterday spent my “working” day trying to calculate my odds of success
And yes I’m a master’s applicant too, currently on OPT, originally from Europe
Franc,
This is just the beginning, the wait will be long, don’t stress yourself about odds…Take life as it comes…
LOL, Also duplicate filings memo will brings down LCA and petitions . good for us!
Sam Whittaker, if you have calculated work start date from may or jun 2018 then its ok since many will cert lca in dec 2017 or jan 2018 itself.
Sam,
I am using the link
https://lcr-pjr.doleta.gov/index.cfm?event=ehLCJRExternal.dspAdvCertSearch
But I don’t find the FY 2019 as H1b Fiscal Year to do the search. Although I trust you and LCA’s analysis, Please let me know how you guys are doing it. A Step by step procedure will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Check other comment . the search criteria used for the query. I think i posted 2 or 3 days ago.
Please don’t judge based on the trend . I expect there would be total of 80k applications
Franc,
Also, under your #3, FY2018’s approval rate is 59%, far from 80%.
Source: https://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-approval-trends-top-industries-top-countries-fy-2007-2017/
Actually, please disregard my previous comment about your point #3. I just realized that the 59% number is not accurate.
Sabareesh Nagarajan, studied at Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu, India
copied your answer on quora
Hi All and Admin.,
I have question might be valid or invalid am not sure, but this is my question, we have seen last year 85000 h1b’s were picked up and of them 25% were rejected (just an example as many h4’s who applied in my desi community say out of 35., 28 were rejected and 4 are waiting on rfe reply)., what will happen to this number will this number gets used in this years lottery or will not be considered at all.
thanks
indu
I don’t think that information is available in public domain. As far as I know, 85K is the limit set by congress, it is not MINIMUM that USCIS has to issue per year. Also, all these rejections will weed out the duplicate, fraud and non SO applicants this year, which means USCIS will have far less applications to reject on same grounds. Selecting much more than 85K just to compensate for last year seems highly unlikely to me.
Maybe,
check this link, point 3.
https://www.uscis.gov/outreach/notes-previous-engagements/uscis-national-stakeholder-january-meeting-0
Yes, I know USCIS accepts more than 85K petitions, but do you know how much more? my point is since we are having too many rejections last year, doesnt mean the selection for this year will be significantly more. USCIS might have planned for that last year, we never know.
The Buy American Hire American was signed by tRump in April after the lottery from last year. And we know USCIS is mandated by Congress to accept 85K every year.
This means that the rejection rate went higher after the tRump signed the bill, so it makes sense that there are 7K leftover from last year (like Sam Whittaker is pointing out)
If we add a 21% rejection rate to the 7K leftover, the USCIS, in order to do their job right as demanded by the Congress, should accept 85K/.79+7K=115K
Even if it is not 115K I really doubt it will be any less than 110K
Good point Franc. if this comes true, we are looking for a much much better H1 season. All the best legit applicants !!
Technically USCIS has always landed up around 85000 under bush and obama era except for FY18 under spanky (as he being called in WH :)) they will not be able to fill cap under FY18. As it is already down by 7k (DNM,withdrwals) . It will be more because of irregular updates. Over that there is admin processing stuff (dont know much about it) mentioned in one of the releases so number will be more. Also still a lot of petitions needs to adjudicated. Well uscis has to rely on FY19 to fillup FY18.
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports%20and%20Studies/Immigration%20Forms%20Data/Employment-based/H1BFY09-12.pdf
Check this you will get an idea. Trump ripped last year ever happed in histoery of h1b. The cap deficit end of all FY18 adjudications I estimate would 15-20K short of 85K.
Anyways got to get back to work
2010:
Picked in lottery: 102,343
Approved:86,567
I believe 2019 will break the 2010 record.
Number of left over applications from 2018-114k
Number of new applications 2018-2017=40K
114k-20%=91k
40k-20%=30K
total=120K
There is decrease in the number of applications from 2017 to 2018. Based upon last years RFE’s, New Third party work site things and all I took out 20% if the same trend continues this year.
Sharma
Hi, I have my i-797 valid till 2019 Aug but i-94 is valid till Nov 2018. I got my password renewed, so i would like to understand I94 extension and H1b extension are the same or they are different? What is the success rate if my employer would file the extension? Would i get new i797 with new validity or it would remain same till 2019?
??
I think the administrator ate your comments! >_<..
Unfortunately it looks like so. All the analaysis LCA did is all gone. I dont know what admin’s got to prove with deletion. None of the comments broke any sort of policy stated whatssoever.
Anyways bye redbus!
I can still see them.
I can also see them.
If the Admins want to remove some stuffs then they have the right to do , Who the hell are you?
Somebody beyond your understanding, IQ and character!
The name you picked certainly suits you…
anyone would be annoyed if a comment that wasn’t derogatory or abusive got deleted or became invisible….
Keep talking. Someday you’ll say something intelligent.
I just executed the same search for FY19 again, trying to see a daily trend. Interestingly it showed 144,661 cases found today, 36 fewer than yesterday
Only till 19th is available, normally it updates on Wed or Thur…
Yeah admin deleted for no reason.
if the number is less then status has changed to withdrawn. everyday there is subraction and addtion. Some withdraw some get certified. As of now they have run job to update case where cases have been withdrawn. Wait for tonight they will update cetified cases which i belive > cases withdrawn.
We do not delete anything that does not violate our comment policy. Sometimes, there are cache issues and you need to refresh.
I did that still did not see the comments even after refresing. After seeing your comment I refreshed now everything back on. Anyways, you can delete it if you want I have no issues. I know my stats and data and know that doesnt change the fate. I’m new here so just thought of sharing it for who would appreciate it.
And for bullies/ trolls grow a pair and come out of your childhood.
write something worth reading . You are giving some false data . You think we are all fools?
relax Geniune., some one is taking effort in getting in the number based on what they think and what they feel., don’t be a fool by posting these foolish comments and appreciate their effort or please sit calm.,
sukanya
Sukanya,
don’t react to these people. All that they need is attention. They don’t bring anything good to the community but will be first to criticize or deride somebody. Don’t feed these trolls. 🙂 thanks!
Its 153135 today.
Yep
FY2019 153,135 ???,???
FY2018 252,192 199,000
FY2017 264,930 236,000
FY2016 240,167 233,000
FY2015 192,503 172,500
It went up 8438 overnight.
it shoot up by ~9000. 20th march were updated yesterday.
I was wrong previous time counting 1000 * 12 remaining days for LCA. ActuallyTwo more days to go as LCA certification 7 working days. Largly LCA cert for new petitions should recede by march 23. So I think rough estimate 9000 for 2 more days total will land up 171135. So it will be under 160000 for sure as we predicted previously. Somewhere between 130k to 160K
Where did you get this information from ? Any official Site?
No it’s still 13k
today 161,203 21th march updated
up by 8068. Tomorrow is technically last day. (remember 7 working days for LCA certification so will recede from tomo certainly wont be at 8000’s ) Tomo estimate: 161203 + 8000 = 169203!
Still going as we predicted.
@Sam Whittaker., my 2 cents., lca applied on 03/21 got approved on 03/28 like wise applied on 29th will be approved on 5th and 30 will be approved on 6th, remember you have time until last minutes of USCIS closing on April 06th, and you can walk into USCIS to physically submit your packet. I say you have to calculate these numbers on April 06th., to get an approx average number.
thanks
pulkarni
I agree very less people take that risk. LCA filed during those days are doesnt make huge difference for our approximations.
After 221(g) blue slip, Once client get verification call/email. In how much approximate time candidates are getting email from consulate to submit the passport ?.
Anyone with same experience or in the same situation ?
MARCH-08 : Interview
MARCH-14 : Client received verification call.
Hi Jack!
From October 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, U.S. employers filed 94,266 labor condition applications for H-1B visa jobs: 1,506 were denied, 3,502 were withdrawn, 8,900 were withdrawn after being certified.
During the same time, Department of Labor made decisions on 18,279 labor certifications for employment green card:1,582 were denied, 806 were withdrawn. Our data also includes 5,162 cases currently under Audit Review, 2,215 cases under Appeal and 37,598 under Final Review.
First Quarter 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
LCA for H1B Visa 80,613-68,239 -78,871-89,231-93,372-93,533-94,266
LC for Green Card-11,352-13,606-11,064-16,618-26,943-24,911-18,279
Hey care to disclose your source?
Until FY 2016, you can look at data from DOL Annual Report
Hi Kumar.,
will you be publishing this year’s report of how many h1b’s will be filed like you have done last year ?
We will update as per USCIS update. You can check history of H1Bs filed from 2000 to 2017
Out of those 94K LCA for H1B, how many are New application? Thanks
There’s no way to know that aside from looking at each one
Certification date:
Start Date Range:
work start date from From:
08/01/2018
work start date to To:
10/01/2018
End Date Range:
work end date from From:
08/01/2019
work end date to To:
09/30/2021
144,697
cases found
My guess is under160000!
thanks, can you show us the link to this data search page?
Here it is : https://lcr-pjr.doleta.gov/index.cfm?event=ehLCJRExternal.dspAdvCertSearch
Where in the world are the comments that yesterday LCA and I made?
I’m wondering the same…maybe Kumar removed them since the comments got a bit confusing?
Sam,
I am using the link
https://lcr-pjr.doleta.gov/index.cfm?event=ehLCJRExternal.dspAdvCertSearch
But I don’t find the FY 2019 as H1b Fiscal Year to do the search. Although I trust you and LCA’s analysis, Please let me know how you guys are doing it. A Step by step procedure will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Just did a inquiry for the previous years (using the same month/day as you did):
FY2017 = 252,195 cases
FY2016 = 264,930 cases
FY2015 = 240,167 cases
FY2014 = 192,503 cases
Sorry I confused FY with natural year. it’s actually:
FY2018 = 252,195 cases
FY2017 = 264,930 cases
FY2016 = 240,167 cases
FY2015 = 192,503 cases
And listed with H-1B petitions of the year:
FY2019 144,697 ???,???
FY2018 252,192 199,000
FY2017 264,930 236,000
FY2016 240,167 233,000
FY2015 192,503 172,500
Add 6000 more for this week. Assuming 1000 per day. 150K then anywhere between 100-130K.
this will be a shocker. Absolute ripper from DJT!
Good news.. But LCA website just shows cases filing date before 19th, still two more weeks of LCA to come…..
oh its just 19? then add 18000 for 2 weeks 146000 + 18000 –>164000
stil it will be 120-140K
lets say 135k to 155k
my last chance under master quota. looks positive of a pickup.
No you are doing it wrong. I was comparing number of LCAs filed between 08/01 to 10/01 for each year, not the total of the entire year. Since it’s the same time of the year, it makes it comparable as samples.
what end dates did you give?
Certification date:
Start Date Range:
work start date from From:
08/01/2018
work start date to To:
10/01/2018
End Date Range:
work end date from From:
08/01/2019
work end date to To:
09/30/2021
I just did this for FY18, 17, 16 and 15 with the same date ranges to make them comparable
where am i wrong? i just did it for this year. since 2 more weeks remaining add about 18000 more cases. 146000 + 18000 –> 164000.. rough estimate petitions for 2019 will be in between 135000 and 155000
good that you did it for previous years
Ok you are actually right. I was confused.
if you click into individual cases, many of them are not “new application”. So looking at the raw LCA numbers over estimate the H1B applications. My guess is this year the # of H1B applications are going to be way lower.
Does current year should be FY2019? but we can not check FY2019, I am confused.
large MNCs file LCA from DEC or JAN onwards so you have push work start date to may or june 2018
Is traffic to this website significantly reduced or nobody is applying this year? we are a week away from filings and only 12 cases in tracker with no comments at all !! 😀 😀
Seriously it is surprising unless people have flocked to different forum.
Traffic is normal almost same as last year, I guess people are either less curious or maybe not many new H1B filers…
Maybe, but if I remember correctly, there are much less posts from Infy, TCS, HCL, etc people compared with last year………..
Guys…revised predictions for this year.
Big hope this time from 3rd timer.
Revised predictions ???
hi , I entered USA on H1B with company X and my visa is valid with X till 2019. I moved to employer Y in USA and I797 is valid till 2020. If i visit India now . Do i need to appear for Visa stamping since employer is changed? if not what are the probable questions at port of entry?
Not required
If you go out of US after employer changed, then you should go for Stamping with new I-797 before coming back.
If your previous visa stamping is valid, you can travel with it. Have your new approved notice handy. Its enough if you get stamping after the current one has expired.
I am a F1 visa student who is in processing OPT visa currently and I have a Question about my next step which is H1B visa. I have known that I can apply H1B visa after terms of OPT, however, my OPT term will end on 3/23/2019 and the H1B visa for 2019 will starts on 4/1/2019(?). I was wondering if I could apply the H1b visa after my OPT has end. I will have 60days of Grace period from 3/23/2019 to 5/23/2019 so I really love to know whether I can apply H1B visa during the following grace period. If not PLEASE give me an option to process my nest step.
I am not sure if you would be able to apply for COS, but definitely you won’s be able to work after your OPT ends. Usually, one gets CAP-GAP and can work till Sep 30th with it.
All the best!
You have to come back to India
Hi, You can apply for change of status from F1 to H-1B during the 60 days grace period. If you are lucky to be picked up in the lottery system, you can stay in America until the final decision of your H-1B application. HOWEVER, if you are not picked up in the lottery system, you have to leave America immediately.
OR, if you can find cap-exempt H-1B employer, you can apply for H-1B anytime before your grace period ends.
If I was you, I would also try to apply for H-1B this year.
This is only my personal advice not the legal advice.
Good luck!
Checkout the past data available on DOL site :
https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm
Check Disclosure Data…
My previous H1 application got denied, which in turn changed my SEVIS status to “COMPLETED” (Though I have my STEM OPT valid until July 2019).
– SEVIS blames it on USCIS and USCIS blames it on SEVIS.
– A correction has been filled but no update till date
Question:
-Can I apply for H1b COS?
-One of the opinions I got from a colleague is to go with Consular Processing. Can I go with that?
-What is the difference between COS and CP?
– any other advice on this case is welcomed.
Thanks in advance.
Why was your h1b denied?
1. Since your SEVIS is completed, I dont think you can apply as Change of Status(COS). Please check with an immigration Attorney on this.
2. You can apply for H1B as consular processing. This is how beneficiaries from outside the country apply.
3. Change of status to H1B (From any visa like F1 or L1 or J1 to H1B)is applied when one is currently in USA on a valid visa and applies for H1B. Once COS is approved, the person can start working on H1B and its enough to get stamping when he/she travels and re enters USA. Where as Consular processing(CP) is applied when a person stays out of USA and tries to apply for visa to enter USA. In this case, once visa is approved, beneficiary has to get stamping and enter USA with valid visa stamped.
If you have done STEM , your only intention is to live in USA. Do some good things for your country man instead of helping trump?
I faced the same issue – My college raised a request to sevp and my status moved back to active with in a week . I think it is fine your status will be in active state with in a week . Just consult a good attorney . I spoke with 3 attorneys they said your DSO should take care of it and it is not your fault.
If you apply for change of status then USCIS will issue an rfe to prove your status however by that time you will be back in status .
Apparently premium processing is going to be suspended this year, too. USCIS expect to lift the suspension in September 2018.
Here’s the official memo.
https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-will-temporarily-suspend-premium-processing-fiscal-year-2019-h-1b-cap-petitions
H1b is the worst visa you can ever get in this planet . Lots of scrutiny and hate
how is scrutiny bad? and “hatred” is not towards the H1B visa but is with the fraudulent practices and fake candidates who manage to get the visa.
I hope all applications from consultancies are heavily scrutinized. It’s not fair for highly skilled workers who apply for h1b legitimately to not get the visa.
Agreed. 100%
Hey guys, Was reading some of the comments in here.
Do people actually spend money out of their hand to get h1B?
I thought the firm was supposed to sponsor?
Thanks
Naveen, employer is supposed to sponsor the H1B. paying for h1b is illegal and should be reported as a fraud. but you will come across many comments where ppl pay consultancies to file their visas. with recent updates, hopefully that thing will be scrutinized and such applications will be rejected.
Ya. You are right. Those applications needs to be rejected.
your comments were passed to USCIS on priority, this will be take in care this year, DO you have any more suggestions.
Hi
I had a stamped h1b which expired 2017 December. i haven’t traveled to US even once.
i have a new work requirement to travel US. Now do i have to go through the normal new h1b lottery procedure or is there any way where i can make use of the old stamped h1b.
Kindly help me.
You need to apply for extension cum amendment in non cap category. Once approved, you can go for stamping and then travel.
People in India are not realizing the level of scrutiny happens to the H1s here thru consultancies and Indian IT firms.. lots of people get rfe’s and denials.. rfe’s are issued at will.. yet it is sad to see people tend to go to consultancies withour realizing what is happening.
Guys when you spend lakhs of your money with consultancies, atleast do some research on them.. else it’s complete waste of money.. most of them are fraud rings who won’t even apply or most likely will end up in denial. Hyderabad consultancies do these fraud things. Beware and apply only thru genuine employers
I think these guys consider those initial 3-4 lakhs as a gone money when trying this option. If they end up lucky, they can take that 4 lakh back in 1 month. Its pretty much like buying a lottery ticket these guys are doing.
I wish even more scrutiny happens to them. I’d love to see more and more denials, especially those who come through shady consultancies.
Hello All! Please use this email id published on USCIS site to report all FAKE consultancies who are asking people to pay for visa and reducing the chances for uthe genuine applicants (Desi consultancies). I am fighting back and so should you!
reporth1babuse@uscis.dhs.gov
reported on TCS, CTS, infy, accenture, wipro, l&t infotech to reporth1babuse@uscis.dhs.gov, these are the body shops who abused h1b to the most. they laid fraud road and found all the loops holes to send the plumbers, carpenters, potters etc to US with software profile, last week I have seen a bus conductor( who sells tickets in bus) as a testing profile to the most reputed country. God bless America!!! funny he was a tcser and other uber driver was ctser.
Good job mishika, tcs cts infosys wipro hcl techm etc are the real H1B scammers and they are already got denials… I am also going to report them..thanks
I think the system is flawed as it is lottery based. Let us not generalize. I am in a US based MNC and work with quite a few folks from some of the names you mentioned. To tell the truth, some of them are quite brilliant you know. Yeah, some are average too. So, let us not generalize.
The moment we move to a merit based system, all the issues will be resolved. Then no matter which firm or consultancy one comes from, if you fit the bill you get in. If not, ur thrown out.
that is correct. one should not generalize things, but there is a reason why these stereotypes exist. pointing out exceptions wont help either side. Also, changing things to merit based is quite difficult if you think about it. like, how would you quantify merit? based on degree, experience, university rankings?
well done Mishika!!
@sounds racist, sounds funny, govt figuring out your opinion, do you have any law books for the govt to go thru, you seems crazy, god bless you!
The story which u narrated is interesting, particularly driver and conductor characters u created are really interesting and some fools are supporting you blindly since they hate that MNCs regardless what you stated.. This year all MNCs realized scrutinized happening.. They are doing Very less h1b’s based on experience level.. Hope this year very less applications will be submitted .. Total count might be 100k to 120k..
Guys be careful if applying for Day 1 CPT as their petitions are being denied due to “maintenance of status “.
Hey Guys, anyone is from TCS here? I heard TCS is again filing 8k+ H1B applications this year. I have submitted my documents and waiting for the confirmation. Anyone in the same boat?
I hope all 8K+ applicants gets H1.
Check this below link, I hardly see 600 LCA’s for TCS applied this year. I may be overlooking something.
http://h1bdata.info/listlca.php?em=TATA%20CONSULTANCY%20SERVICES%20LIMITED
Thanks!
The link you posted show 1004 LCA’s though.
Did you check the post date.. I was only looking at the ones with 2018 🙂
Can we believe the link ? even last year it shows 2000 LCS’s for CTS.
Any LCA filed after Apr 01 2017 would have to be for FY2019 (i.e. year 2018) though.
It could also be extension, amendment, etc.
There are only 1004 LCA applications filed after 04/01/2017.
One strange thing that I noticed. I looked at few LCAs from 2017/2018 and they are all for amendment/change and not for new employment. This means that out of 1004 not all LCAs were not filed for new H1B applications.
Yes, that’s maximum can show in one page. But it seems big IT companies have not filed many LCAs in 2018. However we need to wait and see until 4.1
Employer can file multiple petitions with a single LCA. LCA covers job description, location and pay.. They can use same LCA for many petitions and thats what IT firms and consultants do.
Really?
Even i requested my manager to consider for this year CAP. But CTS does not do it this year for me. I am planning to apply thru Max Consultants Hyd. Dont know what happened to US as CTS being a genuine and No. 1 software company in the world, they should be allowed as many as H1b they need to apply. but not sure.
“CTS being a genuine and No. 1 software company in the world” truer words have never been said before 😀 😀 😀 “they should be allowed as many as H1b they need to apply” why don’t you tweet this to Mr. President. Maybe he will consider your suggestion and create new visa category for CTS!!!
Dude are you serious??? Do you even know what is happening to applicants fate when they go thru consultancies, even Indian IT firms. Check last years results.. In this same URL, just change the year to 2018 and read the experience of the folks in last year’s.. everyone is literally crying even after going thru lottery.
pathetic to see folks still looking for consultancies even after they are being screwed. People out there in India is not understanding the seriousness of the scrutiny here and they somehow want to get into US. No wonder why Cap petition counts went to 236, 233, 199 ks in the past. Wake up guys.. think before whatever you do.
😀 shutting me wont help. please read 2018 H1-b, third party pages on this website if you haven’t already. Desi consultancies stand very minimal chance moving forward. dont waste your money !!
LOL
I had around 20 CTSers stationed in our open space for a month. By glancing on their screens I saw that what they did most of the time was:
1. Read email
2. Look at some spreadsheet
3. Shop for deals on Amazon.
Total waste of money for the company.
This might be the bestbuy., I see Wipro, TCS, CTS team members sitting in bestbuy open space wither busy dealing in Amazon or working on their financials in excel sheet or looking out for deals on travel. Awesome staff.
I heard that CTS has a special permission to enter into US and after that they can apply for H1b if they want but until that they have to be on JF1AA visa, on this VISA they can even carry your neighbors colleagues and anyone you wish. Remeber only CTS has this option as they being genuine and no.1 software compny on this planet.
best wishes dear CTSer
CRazee LOL
stay away from Max Consultants Hyd., heard they loot your money asking to deposit 6500 dols, and then will return only 3500, stating you missed your lottery., heard they will be fair until lottery and from then all fraud.
try to stay away, I have seen some reporting Max Consultants Hyd to USCIS, if this gets in random pick you will never be eligible to enter us as you will be blacklisted in usics db.
all the best and allow cts to play for you with your genuine experience.
One strange thing that I noticed. I looked at few LCAs from 2017/2018 and they are all for amendment/change and not for new employment. This means that out of 1004 not all LCAs were not filed for new H1B applications.
I heard only 2k, check your status in ultimatix first..
I heard less than 2k,check ur status in ultimatix…
Hallo guys anyone advice for me for get an h1b or green card. –
Hallo guys, i am from nagpur and want us h1 or green card. lottery help please. I do many system admin work as I studied pgdca with 87% Mark. How much expenditure to get h1 or green card lottery and who will send it to my address.please help.
@h1 or greencard providars: H! visa filling time is over now. but if you want you can go for EB5 (Direct green card) as you have queried about the green card too. it will cost you 0.5 million to 1 million dollar (Expenditure in your term)
Anyone planning to apply H1 from Genefront Inc ?
It’s now not safe to live in US https://www.google.com/amp/www.firstpost.com/world/anti-h1b-posters-plastered-in-the-heart-of-silicon-valley-train-network-bart-4395579.html/amp
This is shocking!! This in one of the most progressive countries on earth??
Looks like a lot of people support the anti-immigrant sentiment. Just hope that it does not result in any physical harm.
I see US values going down every other day. The media isn’t helping either.
It is not fair to judge US values based on a protest. If Indian applicants had some integrity for all these years and did not participate in fraud, it could have been a different picture.
US values are going down because US has allowed for millions of people that do not share these to come over without integrating. I takes 1-2 generations to melt into the melting pot. So Americans that understand these values are naturally against increased levels of immigration.
hello,
Any one applied H1 thru Voyage visa guider, Hyderabad?
Please suggest
Thanks
Most of body shops have already been reported, be careful they just want your money and know they can only get rejection this year.
beware they are fraudsters, my cousin and his couple of friends are still working to claim their money back from 2016 filling, just an advise.
Dude stay away from Desi Consultancies, Anyway time is over even though if you give them money now for filling, they can’t file your H1 in this short span of time, H1 window is open from 2’nd April to 6th April only. and fresh H1 filling takes lot of time due to the kgs in weight of documentation which is not possible in 10 days. So i am assure you they won’t file your visa if you give them money today.
Just reported this company based on your search here. I provided this link as ref. Please note you should not apply, company should apply.
Employee applying H1B is illegal Illegal illegal…..
I am gonna report this company of yours to USCIS. In fact, I just did. I hope you stay away from them.
This company is from Hyderabad. A hotbed of body shops.
Good Luck
Thanks
This a fraud company. Looted so many aspirants’ hard earned money in the name of H1B. Our aspiration is their investment and loot you. Don’t go for this company next year or anytime. My friend was an example of their fraud. We have lodged an official complaint in US government portal against this person. Below notice was found in their website(https://www.genefront.com/)
GeneFront Pharma
NOTICE:
It was brought to GeneFront inc., notice that the person Named: RAGHU NANDAN NAMARI
Currently working as Contractor for Cisco, Building no 17, has accepted money from about 100 candidates on the pretext that he will provide jobs by filing H1b through GeneFront Inc.
Raghu Nandan is no way connected with GeneFront Inc., he has hacked into GeneFront server and able to file LCAs under GeneFront Inc., company. All these are filed without the knowledge and consent of President GeneFront inc.,
He might have produced fake offer letters and forged signatures, which is now under investigation. This incident was already reported to Fremont, CA police Dept.
GeneFront Inc., is no way connected with this individual and do not send any money to the Cheater Raghu Nandan Namari or to his account in India to Nandan Software etc.,
Raghu Nandan has his own web site and email address:
E: Raghu@Nandhan.com
W: www.Nandhan.com
M: +1 844-Nandhan / 844-626-3426/510-516-9259
Hello,
Can you please let me know if you had any luck with the police complaint against Raghunandan Namari, he has also cheated me. Please advise.
Guys, what happened only 186 comments so far. Last year by this time it was more than 1000 comments. Lets see how many get through the lottery this year. Numbers will be less as compared to last year. Filled h1 3’rd time in a row. Hopping will get this time
hahah Kumar, I was wondering same. Looks like all Indian IT firms asked employees to stay away from blogs 😀 I expect less applications this year. Even I am applying third time in row !! all the best !!
Third timer +1, good luck everyone.
4th time for me 🙂
this is my 6th time
which consultancy?
@Nandu: Not through consultancy. I am AD applicant on stem extension working for a H1b-non-dependent US firm.
bro same here, filing 3rd time, god bless us
People study MS in some junk colleges and want to settle her
Hallo guys, i am from nagpur and want us h1 or green card. lottery help please. I do many system admin work as I studied pgdca with 87% Mark. How much expenditure to get h1 or green card lottery and who will send it to my address.please help.
Try to get a better Job in India . Ways to USA are already been shutdown.
Also, proof-read your posts if you are asking employers to file for your GC 😀
@h1 green card providers, i think you should be checking with tcs, cts, infy as i heard they hire people to send them here and train them during their travel, seems like you have a good experience”system admin work as I studied pgdca with 87% Mark”, you will be easily picked.
unfortunately this years H1b will not work out, and green card is a process which comes after h1b, so be patient and get a job in one of these organizations.
Does Capgemini do filing of Medium priority applications?
Me too third time! “fingers crossed”
People with 130 k plus salary n 13 yrs us experience r getting rejection so anyone who is trying to do new h1 or not with right credentials or not in right job profile will end up getting rf e n stamp of rejection on their Immigration status so only dumb ones r applying new h1 n will end up losing money or rejection stamp on their status…same with fake cases who got lucky all these years !!
Many are getting direct rejection without any RFE . Don’t apply for H1b , Even if the H1b is approved, you will get the visa till the project sow end date . Life in US will be horrible and hard with uncertainties . Visa extensions and approvals will be very difficult . Live your life peacefully rather than going behind the H1b .
Yes h1 extension of some people with very high salary n several yrs of us experience is getting denied.. Some had to go back n even had to sell houses at a big loss ..these were in us for 10 plus yes waiting for their gc…,… Had to pay money to bank as selling us house in short time will cause big loss of money or end up in foreclosure that will cause problems in any future visit or stay…imagine what will happen to most level 1 or 2 wage people when some level 4 wage people got h1 extension denied even with 140 approved
I will act dumb this time
CTS is planning to file total of 80 H1b application this year.
Too good to be true..
Really ??
He means 80k
You forgot to add more zeroes.
Hello This is the fact . Wait and watch
Even i heard the same from my cognizant friends. Cognizant is not extending the H1b visas of employees already in US. They are more inclined towards hiring GC/citizens as they are trying to become H1B non-dependent company. A H1B non-dependent company cannot have more than 15% of their employees on H1B. They will definitely not apply for more H1Bs this year.
Dude, Do you really think Cognizant can become a Non-H1B dependent company? Bringing H1B percentage to 15%??? Wake up!
There will be no lottery this year. RIP consultant scammers.
Anyone from cognizant received an email regarding h1 filling?
Heard Indian IT companies r getting rf e n denials a lot these days even for people who have been here for long time with approved i-140…a friend told his cognizant frd got denial even though he was in U.S. For long …n was working with a big client…
Frd mentioned he was asked to leave asap by cogni n had to pay heavy fine for lease breakage, sell furniture etc in a very short time….some said h1 Dependent Companiez r getting More Rfe
Cts got 30k approvals from h1 last year including extensions, ammednments.
Hi Friends, Admin,
When VO issues 221(g), Whats the logic /idea behind VO keeping passport for some people and returned the passport for some people.
Is this the indication on faster VISA processing for passports that VO keeping it and long processing time for other case ?
Generally, if they keep the passport with them it means they expect whatever procesisng is being done will be completed in a reasonable amount of time and you can hope to get it approved soon.
If they have returned the passport, then you can expect longer delays
Hi Ram,
Thanks for the reply.
In 221(g) when VO returned the passport. I heard then we are looking at timeline of 5-6 weeks from the date of the interview.
Do you know pattern or average time ?.
@JACK,
It is difficult to predict and time line depends on the case. Some will get approval within 6 to 8 weeks and some will take more than 4 to 6 months if PP has been returned to you.
My friend is stuck for more than 4 months
Last year i saw ~5000 comments by this time, but this year seems most of the people are not looking for h1. Still they are talking about 2018FY in its own thread. Does this raise an alarm of less applicants this year?
I was also wondering the same .people hardly talking here abt 2019. More discussion on 2018 h1b.
After feb 22 memo, it will be difficult for any consultancy/outsourcing firm to get approval for 3 years. Outsourcing firms have already switched to hiring more GC/citizens than applying for h1bs.
This could be one of the several reasons.
Majority of visas used to go to the above firms.
In 2018 thread too, people are mainly discussing about issues only.. like denials/rejections / rfe’s.. Success cases are discussed less.
Not sure where we are heading.. If employer is not genuine then it is most likely 100% denial. Other attorney blog’s too are suggest against consultancies and Indian IT firms applying for with short term/Employee-Vendor model petitions.