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USCIS News : Data Entry Complete for H1B FY 2017 Petitions

As anticipated in the our previous article on reality about H1B receipts and Lottery results, USCIS issued a news alert today indicating that they have completed data entry of the all the H1B FY 2017 cap subject petitions. Lets me summarize the news alert and what to expect.

Summary of USCIS News – Data Entry Complete for H1B 2017 Petitions :

  • As of May 2nd, 2016 USCIS has completed data entry of all the petitions filed for H1B under fiscal year 2017 quota and selected in random selection aka H1B Lottery
  • USCIS will start to return all the petitions that were not selected in lottery.
  • There is NO SLA or time frame that USCIS tells for expecting the rejected petitions that were not selected in lottery due to the high volume of filings.
  • The petitions or employers should NOT contact USCIS regarding their H1B petition until they receive some sort of communication about their petition either a reject notice or case receipt.
  • USCIS will issue a press note once they complete sending out all the rejected petitions.
  • USCIS has also transferred some cases from Vermont processing Center to California Processing Center to balance load. The key thing is that they will indicate the same via notification to employers regarding the same. Also, they would need to work with the new processing center, if they need to upgrade to premium processing or for any sort of correspondence.

What does this USCIS Alert Indicate ?  How has it been last year for FY 2016 ? What to Expect ?

Compared to last year, the press alert came in couple of days early regarding the completion of the data entry of H1B petitions. This is the second year USCIS is releasing such an alert, they have not issued such alert prior to 2016 quota.  Anyways, last year after the press alert came in on May 4th regarding data entry completion, first regular processing petitioners started to get the receipts for a month or so. Also, reject notices went on for over 2 months. The final press alert indicating the completion of the return of the rejected petitions came in on July 14th. So, if USCIS were to follow the same processing timelines, they would complete it by July 12th, as the data entry was done two days earlier. It could be a little earlier as well. The reason is that, USCIS received more premium processing petitions this year than last year, this is from the fact that they did not move the premium processing start date too much earlier and kept it from May 12th.

All in all, the waiting continues folks and it may be a nightmare waiting for some of these things…but, I guess that is life. Ideally, all selected petition holders should get receipt notices in 2 to three weeks, after that chances get slim and I suggest you plan for Plan B.  In general,  be positive when you wait..Also, if you were unlucky you will get a physical reject notice from USCIS that looks like Sample H1B Reject Notice

The below quote by Rocky states the reality of life…Don’t give up, if luck does not favour you.

[blockquote cite=”Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa ” type=”right”] Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! [/blockquote]

What are your thoughts ?

   

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146 Comments

  1. My employer applied in AD/PP but haven’t heard about the lottery result yet. I read that if the application is not selected in PP/AD then it will be pushed to regular quota. So will all the regular lottery results get closed by May 12th too or is this only for premium processing?

    Reply
    • only PP…i myself am PP-AD no news till now have only one attempt left next year, 12 May last day for PP receipts.
      But if u dont get reject there is still chance bcz there can be cancellations some ppl get 3 receipts and cancel 2 applications so in that case u can be picked

      Reply
      • But data entry is done right, even if ppl have 3 approved applications (which is atrocious) and cancel 2 then will there be use when the data entry is closed?

        Reply
        • USCICS generally selects more than 85k applications taking into account cancellations denials etc…u will get receipt by snail mail in that case..one of my friends got on may 26th last time…but thats rare case

          Reply
      • Hi RR,
        No, if some ppl cancelled their picked application, then those will be added to next year 85,000+ lottery not this current year

        Reply
  2. My boss got an update from FRAGOMEN:
    “Unfortunately, at this time even on cases that we have received receipts on, the checks has not been cashed by USCIS. This is really not going to be an indication of case acceptance. ”
    Is this true?

    Reply
  3. Is there a chance to get check encashed after this. My check was not encashed. it means i am not in.. non-AD/RP

    Reply
  4. Hi Raghu, This site is very helpful. special thanks to you.
    What is the chance now to get selected NONAD/RP. I have not heard anything from my employer till now.

    Reply
  5. Non-AD/PP/VT

    No news yet.. I checked my sevis status with my school DOS but the number has not changed- still the same as OPT I-20. This means I most likely didn’t get selected, right?

    Reply
    • I just checked with my school too. no update on my SEVIS. I guess this is the end for us. better start thinkin on some other plan B.

      Reply
  6. Same as last year, the waiting period starts – slicing hope daily, almost the selected guys are got announced across companies, since data entry in USCIS couple of days back. Need to wait for the update from Employers, it will take couple of weeks to get news from them.
    Congratulations to the selected folks and Good Luck for those who are in the waiting arena.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  7. yesterday i just ask to my employee about any news?

    after two hour i got shocked about news….i got selected in 1st time regular processing h1b.

    Reply
  8. looks like mine got done, though not officially confirmed from employer/lawyer, last night a surprise call from a friend unofficially confirmed the news. To be honest I am not so desperate now as compared to few years back. I am a 1st timer regular and happy with what I am doing right now, but aspiring for this moment for almost a decade.
    Please don’t be so desperate, be yourself and enjoy what ever you do, one day it will come your way.

    Reply
  9. It’s frustrating these days to follow this thread as a RP applicant waiting for results. The thread is full of messages like these in recent times.

    “Anyone from CTS got update? “
    “Anyone from Infosys? Anyone form CapGemini, me still waiting”
    “Anyone applied through Fragomen? They are very late to respond”
    And some like these
    “ and finally the good news knocked my door today”

    Even I don’t know what I am looking far in this forum now. This is my 4th attempt at lottery and going through this phase year after year. It’s my way of saying “moving forward no matter how hard you are hit – Rocky says “

    Reply
  10. Hi,

    I haven’t received any update from my employer. From the data entry completion announcement form USCIS, how long I can hope for the best? Could you please share your opinions . Many people conveyed that , end of next week. Is it mean 13 May 2016 ???

    Reply
  11. Hi
    Anyone from Wipro Technologies got the acknowledgement for the lottery selection??
    Heard rumors a few have received yesterday…

    Reply
  12. After along wait My employer informed me on Wednesday i.e. 4th May that my check was cashed on 3rd May Non AD/RP/Vermont. You can still have hopes till end of next week. All the best

    Reply
  13. I received my I-797C form. Received date April 11th. Notice date April 20th. My HR informed me about check en cash 10 days back. I received my Case today. I am really happy. Thanks Kumar and Sourabh for your valuable information. Best of luck for others who are waiting for results.

    Reply
  14. I got a message from my attorney… saying my name is not selected. Mine is non-AD/RP, does it mean game over so soon…

    Reply
  15. Received receipt # – NON-AD/RP/VT. Does it mean, my case is selected in lottery. USICS status shows “Case Was Received”. Please let me know

    Reply
  16. Picked up in lottery. Receipt number received. PP/AD/ Vermont.
    Notice date – April 13th. Snail mail reached employers on May 4th.

    PP folks should not give up yet!

    Reply
      • Yes, my school DSO informed that my SEVIS status has been changed to active cap gap – valid until Sept 30th.

        Reply
    • That’s great news Ashi, I wonder if you received any prior notification to this (email, cheque cashed, SEVIS updated etc.)

      Reply
      • No, never heard from anyone until yesterday when the receipt came in the mail at office address.
        School DSO might look up your sevis status and check if it has been updated.

        Reply
  17. I haven’t received any updates on my selection in lottery from my employer. They are saying they haven’t received any communication yet for any resources.
    What is probability?

    Reply
  18. Does this mean that lot results for all selected candidates been sent?

    I haven’t got the receipt yet, are my chances gone?

    Reply
  19. After all reviewing different H1 b visa site I came to know you have below options to check if
    your H1B Visa is selected in the lottery.

    1.H1B fees Check encashed or not. (If it is encahsed then you are done with lottery).
    2.SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) Record Update
    3.Receipt Number issued by USCIS

    Reply
  20. I’m hearing many good news as lottery got picked but unfortunately non of my friends got the result… can someone let me know how much % of hope can we have…. 10 % or less than 10 %

    Reply
  21. RP – Status is showing as “CASE WAS RECEIVED” from last 4 days. Generally how many days will it take for them to Approve/RFE ?

    Reply
      • nope, not 60-90 days….
        Since H4 EAD had arrived last year, they are too busy i guess, time to get approved or get RFE is much longer now. Officially for RP guys it’s 240 days. But you might get approval or rfe in between 90 days to 240 days, it depends.. One of my friend filed for H1B extension in Nov 21, 2015, and he’s still waiting for approval. So you can guess how soon your H1B approval take time. No doubt for new H1b they’re not taking too much time, but still i guess it would be around 5-6months.

        Reply
  22. I am so confused. I was AD/RP. I haven’t received any notification from the attorney yet. does this mean game over for me?

    Reply
  23. Jab naseeb me na likha ho , insaan kitne bhi koshishein kar le , wo apna manzil nahi pahunch paata.
    bhaiyo i crossed 30 now , got laid off due to budget (wrong industry at wrong time )and going back to India and starting from zero again .. Wish me luck please ..
    Talent and hard work can only get you this far , the rest lies on your fate….
    Whoever said work hard and dream big lied to me …
    🙁

    Reply
    • Dear sir,
      I am very much younger to you and I don’t know if I should be saying this.
      Sir, I promise you that if you have worked hard with full sincerity and honesty, you will definitely be rewarded. Kindly do not loose hope and give up. In such times we often keep looking at the closed door so sadly that we are unable to see the n number of doors that have opened.

      Please stay strong.

      Thank you.

      Reply
    • @H1B Third Time Regular I am 38 now… and started my life from zero many times and went on TOP… So don’t give up so early my friend…

      Reply
    • You make it sound like this is the end of your life. Come on man, I stay in Bangalore and my wife works as well. Both of us get over 20 lacs per-annum and save close to 2-2.5K US dollars in India per month. We have all the help we need and freedom to change jobs as and when we want. On top of that we get WFH 2-3 times a week. I think life is going pretty well!!

      Reply
  24. Why don’t they publish in the lottery result in their portal or any dedicated website ? This can give reliefe to all the painful hearts , even school results are published on website.

    Reply
  25. So this means that if we did not get a receipt yet there is no point to wait till May 12. Its game over, right?

    Reply
  26. Hi Admin,

    Need some clarification after data entry conpletes will they encash cheques fir those who got seleect in lottery and how many days it will take to en cash after data entry…

    Reply
  27. Fingers Crossed Saurabh and Kumar… Waiting for approval without any issue…

    Thanks for maintaining such a great Blog to help us all.

    Reply
  28. Article says wait continues…… now it gives a false hope without facts. Has anyone applicants received their after such data entry notifications last year if so is it very few or a good figure. How do they actually notify the employer? Is it through cheque being encashed or a mail posted.

    People say very slim chances after uscis clearly mentioning data entry finished so it would be useful if article points some scenarios of getting receipts which can give hope and boost the confidence.

    Reply
    • Hi Everyone ,

      USCIS Completed the data entry work , after entering the data they will send snail mail and en cash your check simultaneously , in this scenario they will try 2 en cash the checks for the cases which they completed data work in last couple of working days , so still there is chance to get receipt notices for another week and en cash of checks for another couple of days.

      – If you dont receive notices in another week or your check is not enchased in another couple of days they the chances are very slim

      Reply
      • Hi Everyone ,

        all the best to everyone who received the good news , people who are still waiting keep hope for another 1 week

        Reply
    • Hi. I am NP RP. If the check is cashed, then means I got picked from the lottery? It means then I should receive the receipts? Or I can receive the receipts prior the check get cashed?

      Thanks

      Reply
  29. @Saurabh Does this mean USCIS has sent the receipt numbers by snail mail to all RP selected petitions and cashed the check’s of all selected petitions by now?

    Reply
  30. My employer filed the petition for regular processing? I believe regular processing takes time. So is it over for regular processing as well? Until when shall I get the approval notice tentatively speaking?

    Reply
  31. Hi Admin,

    What is the significance of this statement announced by USCIS:

    “Additionally, USCIS is transferring some Form I-129 H-1B cap subject petitions from the Vermont Service Center to the California Service Center to balance the distribution of cap cases. If your case is transferred, you will receive notification in the mail. After receiving the notification, please send all future correspondence to the center processing your petition…..”

    What can be expected out of this statement?

    Reply
    • USA(United Solutions of America),

      Rebalancing the workload. They have more petitions per USCIS officer in VT than in CA. So they are transferring some load there to equate the two.

      Reply
    • Unofficilally May 15, Officially till USCIS announces they have returned all unselected applications (around mid July).

      Reply
    • They have already finished sending notices to successful applications. if you have not yet received, your hope is less that 0.1% that too because it may be a case that your employer has not checked the status of the application fees cheque and notice may take 3-4 days to reach your employer.

      Reply
  32. Can anyone tell me when did the 1st person aproximately got approved his I-129 i.e. H1B case laste year? And also the official start date of Premium mentioned last year??

    Reply

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