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USCIS News Alert : H1B 2016 Premium Processing from April 27th

As you know, yesterday USCIS released an official press note indicating that they received about 233,000 petitions and H1B lottery was completed. As of yesterday,  USCIS indicated that the premium processing will begin no later than May 11th, 2015.

Today, USCIS released a news alert indicating that the premium processing for H1B Visa 2016 petitions will start from April 27th, 2015.

What does this change in premium processing date mean to everyone in H1B 2016 quota ? 

It simply means that, if someone filed their H1B petition in FY 2016 quota under either in masters quota or regular quota and filed it under premium processing their 15 days clock for adjudicating the petition starts from April 27th.  Technically, if everything was right and there is no RFE they should have a decision within 15 calendar days starting from April 27th, which would be May 11th.

So, technically, premium processing candidates for FY 2016 should receive their H1B case petition numbers/ receipt notices starting anytime from today via email.  They should ideally have H1B case number by April 28th or 29th. USCIS might take some more time to release the case number or receipt notices for the regular processing petitions, as there is no SLA or time commitment.

This clearly tells us that the number of premium processing petitions filed this year were more or less same as last year and not too many filed under premium processing as USCIS anticipated. They adjusted the dates based on the work load they have.  Also, with the push in the premium processing dates, hopefully, regular processing candidates petitions are processed slightly faster as well…lets hope so !

Also, they indicated in the press note that no changes to the premium processing petitions filed that are cap-exempt. Their processing continues to stick to the 15 calendar days starting from the day USCIS received the petition with the fee. Also, you may read the below to clarify on the processing times.

H1B 2016 Premium, Regular Processing time, Receipts Info

What are your thoughts on the H1B processing timelines by USCIS ?

Reference : USCIS Alert on Premium processing

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

   

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2,861 Comments

  1. Regular/NonAD/Vermont – Has anyone had their check encashed after May 6th.My colleague says if cheque is not encashed till now then there is no chance.Is this True? Please answer if your check encashed after May6th. All the best to people to got through lottery .
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • well,, you ve got the receipt number, so go to USCIS website and check the status. They could have either issued a “RFE” Request for Evidence or denied the petition.

      Reply
  2. Any updates for Syntel employees?
    By the way if any employer receives the lottery receipts,does it receive for all the employees together???

    Reply
    • No, it is not mandatory. Employer may not receive the receipts of its employees all together. It is impossible to predict.

      Reply
      • Well, you may need to wait till 3rd week of May or even end of May some times. We have seen in last year that few receipts were sent in June as well !!!

        No, don’t loose hope

        Reply
        • Thanks for info SergV. Are you an attorney? Are you talking about applicants who applied within US & received receipt notices late? I am asking so that i can still keep calm . Sometimes employers in india inform late to the employees. So in that case it can be end of may.

          Reply
  3. Hi,

    Can anyone tell me after getting the receipt number.Getting the receipt number is the final confirmation that you have got the H1 b Visa….

    Reply
    • Yes Vaibhav, after you are selected in the lottery they give you H1B visa and a Air ticket from your hometown to US. They also arrange a limousine pickup for you at the US airport.

      All the best!

      Reply
      • Common man why you are saying like this…I am just looking for some serious help and suggestion..If you can its fine otherwise no problem…have a good life ahead….

        Reply
        • Just wonder if people like you even deserve an H1! There are so many posts on forums and websites like this regd the step by step on H1B visa.
          And still you want to be spoon-fed on what happens next ?
          How about doing some basic reading before and after applying ?

          Reply
    • It just mean your application is selected in lottery. uscis will process your h1b petition and if it genuine application it will get approve

      Reply
    • I got it…Chennai location. no mail from ISG. Need to check iaura “check the case status tab” for receipt number.

      Reply
  4. I got it just now 🙂 Thanks to all of you, I got a lot of information through this blog!
    Mine is NON-AD/Reg/VT

    All the best to all of you!

    Reply
  5. Kept hanging on to my employer just because of H1B. Second attempt with the same employer. Total waste of time. Non-Ad/PP/CSC gone with the wind. Goodbye US. Time to move on..

    Reply
    • It’s unfortunate. We allow U.S. laws to control our lives.

      If our life is a car, then we r not in the driver seat.

      How did we allow this to happen ?

      Reply
      • its about the road ahead on which your are going to drive your car on… usa has tons of opportunities, standard of life, quality, money, respect for each other, law and order and what not…..Sorry India provides non of this…I am not hater but still..
        Ps: If not here definitely somewhere else ..life never stops…but try for the best for ourselves and our future….

        India nothing but big potholes to drive on huh!

        Reply
        • but the outer ring road in Hyderabad, yamuna expressway, delhi noida flyway, NH-8 , Mumbai Pune expressway, Durgapur expresway, and many more are as swanky as interstates.

          You should really see the list of expresways in India on skyscrapercity [dot] com

          Reply
  6. Yahooo received EAC number today……Ufff relieved…..
    Guys still chances are on…..
    NON-AD/RP/VT
    Received Date:13-Apr-2015

    Reply
  7. Any Update on Non AD/RP/Vermont Center? Is it true if check is not enchased by this week end , it is game over.?

    Reply
    • I don’t think. If check is en cashed you can say for sure you are selected but not otherwise. There is no sequence in check cashing by USCIS. Sometime they do after sending out receipt. Sometimes in bulk for same banks. It all depends. Best way is wait for receipt or returned package..

      Reply
  8. any one heard from the consultancy run by ITSOftTech ? I had filed four H1-B petitions, spent 20K still not heard about any approval.

    Reply
    • Hi All,

      My application got picked today my employer emailed me. Non-Ad/Rp/ VT

      First time and genuine applicant.
      Thanks to all and all the very best.

      Vk

      Reply
  9. for those of you trying to shift from cap-exempt H1-B to cap subject H1-B.

    if you did not get selected in lottery, you can still work for your cap subject company using the route of ‘concurrent H1-B’.

    A wonderful escape for those of you who have advanced degrees. Go back to your university as post doc or research engineer, the university can file for your H1B easily, then work for the company on concurrent H1-B

    Reply
  10. Is anybody still waiting for their receipt AD/RP/VT.
    This is the second time I am applying and this process is so annoying.

    Reply
  11. Hi, Received receipt number on 15th april till now no news, mine is premium process WAC.
    Do I have chance of rejection or is this normal for everyone ? Please reply

    Reply
    • You got a receipt number, so you cleared the lottery hurdle. PP has an SLA of May 11. So you should hear by end of day on May 11, even if it is approval or RFE.

      Reply
  12. I got H1 receipt notice from my attorney today. i work for a on-shore IT consulting company.

    Non-AD/RP/California

    Thanks guys and good luck.

    Reply
  13. Got acknowledgement from employer just now. Mine is Non-AD/RP/CSC. Stay positive and believe in God you will get it for sure.

    Reply
  14. useful info:

    Did you know that while you work on H1-B for an amployer, you can also work part time for another employer on a “concurrent H1-B”.

    Surprisingly, if you have a Cap-Exempt H1-B, you can still work for a ‘for profit’ company on a part time basis using concurrent H1-B.

    A legal pathway if you did not get selected in lottery. You cant work thru lottery, then work part time through concurrent H1-B visa, just make sure that you have a primary H1-B visa through a non-profit entity.

    Reply
  15. Bachelor’s Degree/Regular Quota/WAC. Just found out that my wife’s checks were cleared on 5/2 by USCIS. No receipt from California as of yesterday. Good luck everyone!

    Reply
    • How can yu find if the check was cleared ? Did your employer tell you ? Thats more surprising, usualy hiring manager does not know check number, its the accounts payable department that knows and possibly HR. but then these departments will not have time to see if check was cleared..

      so how do you know that check was cleared… I am perplexed when I hear such things… does your wife work for a start up company that has very few people ?

      Reply
      • My wife works for the state govt on OPT and we have a good relationship with the HR team. The lawyer sent a copy of the whole H-1B packet (they sent to USCIS) to us along with copies of the checks.We just had to send the check numbers to the HR ppl and they checked the status for us. The cleared image of the check actually contains the receipt number. USCIS prints the receipt number on the back of the check when they submit it for clearing.

        Reply
        • wow, didn know that HR has the authority to login to organizations bank account. That wud have to be finance department.. right ?

          Reply
        • You are such a liar.
          If your wife works for state authorities, her H1B will b cap-exempt.

          She wud not need to stand in line for lottery.

          Dont fool people in this forum.

          Reply
  16. Hi Everyone,
    I am from Cognizant, Bangalore and got the mail for lottery selection with Receipt No. today morning. Receipt date was mentioned as April 13 but I got the mail today.My Visa was filed under Regular Processing for California – WAC.
    Thanks everybody for their wishes and best of luck.
    This is a very good place to keep your hope alive.

    Reply
    • Congrats !!! Could you please let us know from which service center your application got picked and is it a PP or RP ?

      Reply
  17. Hi I am on opt- I checked with my school and got to know my sevis record is not updated! mine is Regular processing. Can I still hope?

    Reply
  18. Regular processing folks should keep calm, we are still receiving receipt notices for regular processing cases despite yesterday’s announcement that data entry is complete.
    Vermont, Regular, Masters cap update: At this point, 62% of cases were selected
    California, Regular, Masters cap update: At this point, 58% of cases were selected
    Vermont, Regular, Bachelors cap update: At this point, 30% of cases were selected (Last year 48%)

    Reply
  19. Hi All

    I applied through some external consultancy , I checked with my employer about result , They said they didn’t receive any any update on My file .

    Till what date i can wait ? This is really killing me …

    Reply
    • did you know that while in India you enjoy the status of being a citizen, something that you will lose when in USA. Citizen status allows you to not worry about being laid off , you can resign from job at will in India and join another, something that you will lose the privilege of when in USA.

      Reply
      • I agree with you.. There are many problems in USA than just freedom of resign. You can live peaceful there without your parents and best friends. Even though you earn less money in India than America I feel living in India is much better than leaving in USA.

        Reply
        • Yes, biggest luxury in India is I can resign from job whenever I want and employer can not hold me to ransom due to green card application or work visa.

          After slogging in USA I realize what a luxury it is. Now actively finding positions in bangalore.

          Reply
  20. My employer told me thAt my h1 application check got encashed, but, until now I don’t have any update on the sevis and I didn’t get receipt either. He told me check got encashed on april27. I think sevis should be updated as soon as Check got encased right ? Did any have the same problem ? I think my employer is cheating me … 🙁

    Reply
    • but how come you are so sure your employer cheated? I read in some forums and my DSO also said sometimes SEVIS does not pick all h1b requests. So i still have some hopes 🙁

      Reply
      • Hi , I am not sure. Its just my frustration on employer. All of my friends who got their h1 checks encashed have their SEVIS updated. It’s been 7 days since he told me check is encashed. I don’t know what’s going on and I can’t believe that USCIS is taking long time to update SEVIS.

        Reply
  21. I no more wanted to be selected, had a change of heart for whatever reasons, and was kinda relieved I was not selected. And now, I just received info from the lawyer I have been selected in the lottery. I am AD/RP/CA. I thought I would put this info out there, if it assures/ gives hope to anyone out here who is looking forward to being selected ( this is the more normal scenario).

    Reply
  22. Hi sam did you get receipt by now ? I am still waiting for receipt. Even my SEVIS status is not updated either. Does it mean my employer is lying to me ?

    Reply
  23. My husband just received his receipt number today for PP/Non-Ad/VT.
    We thought it was over now but his employer just received the notification by mail today. I am not sure what happened but maybe there is still a bit of hope for PPs…
    I am myself waiting for an answer RP/Non-Ad/VT (2nd attempt, single application). Finger crossed 🙂

    Reply
  24. Not yet over for RP as it will take at least 1 week to reach the postal mail from USCIS to employer/attorney. So you can wait 1 week and get the updates from your employer.

    Reply
  25. Hi All,
    Has anybody got the receipt no for Cognizant Bangalore till now?
    Mine was filed for California – WAC.

    Reply

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