After you get selected in the H1B Visa Lottery as part of the H1B Registration Process, you need to file an H1B petition with USCIS. When you file an H1B Petition with USCIS, they send you an H1B receipt notice that acts as proof of your submission of the petition, and it also has a receipt number that you can use to track your H1B petition status.
In this article, we will share sample H1B receipt notices from our community and review each of the fields and what they mean for your understanding.
Sample H1B Receipt Notice given by USCIS
USCIS, after accepting the H1B petition, will send a receipt notice to the employer or attorney. The H1B receipt notice is nothing but a generic “Form I-797C, Notice of Action” that is used by USCIS to inform receipt of any application or petition to applicants.
Below is a sample H1B Receipt Notice from 2023 sent by USCIS after an H1B Visa petition was sent to them. We will look at the fields and their meaning in the next section.
H1B Receipt Notice Fields, Meaning: OCC, COB, Others
The H1B receipt notice has many different fields. Let’s look at each of them in detail.
- Receipt Number: This is the H1B Visa petition receipt number that is generated by USCIS for your H1B petition. It can be used to track the status of the H1B petition. Read more at Understand USCIS receipt Number for H1B, Check Status.
- Case Type: This indicates the application type and the form the H1B Approval notice is tied to. For H1B Visa, it would be “I-129 – PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER”
- Received Date: This date corresponds to when USCIS received the H1B petition package from the employer at the USCIS facility.
- Priority Date: This is usually blank for the H1B approval notice and is not relevant.
- Petitioner: This is the name of the H1B Sponsoring Company. It will be the employer’s name filing the H1B petition on behalf of the applicant.
- Notice Date: This is the actual date when the USCIS system generated the H1B Receipt Notice. Depending on the processing load, this can be anywhere between a few days to a few months after the received date.
- Page: This indicates the total pages and page number related to the receipt notice. It usually 1 of 1 as the receipt notice is only 1 page.
- Beneficiary: This field would have the name of the H1B applicant for whom the H1B petition was filed by the company.
- Name and Mailing Address: You will see the name and mailing address of the company or attorney in a box under these details.
- Notice Type: It will say “Receipt Notice,” which indicates that it is a case receipt notice
- Class Requested: It will say “H1B”, as the receipt notice is for an H1B visa petition.
After the above fields in boxes, you will have some text and then there would be few more fields towards the bottom end of the receipt notice. They are listed as below:
- Name: This is the actual applicant or beneficiary name that you see on the top filed “Beneficiary.”
- DOB: It stands for Date of Birth and corresponds to the Date of Birth of the applicant.
- COB: It stands for Country of Birth of the applicant and will indicate the same.
- Class: This will be listed as H1B as it corresponds to H1B Visa receipt notice and petition type.
- Consulate/POE: This is the US Consulate Name that the employer indicated when filing the H1B petition. It is the location where the applicant is ideally meant to attend the visa interview. USCIS notifies the given consulate regarding the approval as well.
- OCC: This represents the Occupational Code that was used in LCA. It could look something like 030 or 090, etc. Each of these three digits represents the Occupational groups represented by them. Example 030 would be for occupations under “Computer Related Occupations under Systems Analysis & Programming”. Check out more OCC Codes on USCIS website, they are also called DOT Codes.
Towards the bottom of the receipt notice you would see the service center details of where the H1B petition would be processed.
Below are H1B receipt notices from the previous years for your reference. The format of the receipt notice has not changed in many years.
Sample H1B Visa Petition Receipt Notice FY 2020
Below is H1B Sample Receipt Notice( I-797C Notice of Action) received from USCIS for H1 Petition filed for FY 2020 in April 2019. It was filed under Regular Quota with Regular Processing filed as Consular Processing. It is shared by one of our reader ( anonymous for privacy reasons). Thanks to our reader for sharing a copy of their receipt notice.
Sample H1B Visa Receipt Notice FY 2019
H1B visa 2019 Receipt Notice – Sample 2
Also, in the past, USCIS used to issue a reject notice, if you were not selected in the lottery, you may check out H1B Visa Lottery Reject notice. This practice of issuing reject notices do not exist anymore after the introduction of the H1B Electronic Registration Process.
I received the receipt notice last week. Today my attorney sent me a copy of the filed petition. I have around 8 I-20. I noticed that they mixed someone’s I-20’s with mine. What to do now? Should I send I-20s again or write a letter to USCIS asking for a correction? How big is this issue?
Is it a good sign that my sevp portal shows that my new OPT expiry date is 9/30/18 instead of my supposed to be expiry this June?
Yes. It does mean that your petition was selected in lottery.
My check encashed for Non AD, but I did not received receipt. Is that mean my application is selected in lottery? How long will it take to get receipt after check encash?
couple of months…
My checks were cashed on 5/3/18 and I received the receipt on 5/8/18.
Anyone with Seyfarth Shaw law firm?
are you looking for references?
Yes ! 1st Lot of Non AD have got the reciepts dated 12/04 /2018 Yesterday.
What is the name of your employer ?
Hi,
Got news from my attorney my check not cashed. That means my application not selected in lottery right?
Hello,
My SEVP got updated last Monday. I am AD, Non STEM, CA center. My lawyer hasn’t received the receipt notice yet. Most of people I know received their receipts within 3-4 days after SEVP got updated. Any suggestions/ experiences to share?
Thanks.
@Receiptnotreceived
My friend has a similar experience. It’s been two week since his SEVP got updated but has not received the receipt. Though he has the receipt number from DSO.
On the other hand my SEVP is not yet updated but my checks got cashed on 5/3 and receipt received on 5/8.It was last chance for both of us.
You should be getting the receipt by end of this week. Meanwhile you can get your new I-20 generated which will have the receipt number. Thins just take time.
Good luck!
Is lottery conducted for Regular Quota? Anyone Regular Quota /Non-AD got an update?
Yes. Check encased
Congts..When is your cheque encased..
Friday. Received notice today
Check encased. Non AD
Non AD encased
SEVP updated last week on Wednesday. Lawyers got the receipt yesterday.
I am new to H1B and am Non-AD, first time applied , How to verify if my application is really sent to USCIS?
is there is receipt or acknowledgment etc when i can verify that my application is really sent to USCIS?
Unfortunately No. If you know the package tracking number of your application. You can know whether or not the mail was delivered to USCIS on time.
But after lottery is done, if your application is picked you receive receipt notice as shown in this article. If not selected, your company receives a letter stating that your application is not picked. That letter contains your name as Beneficiary. So for both this you have to wait for some more time. Right now there is no much way to find out whether your application was really filed.
Hi,
My employer applied for H1 B for me. Last week on 05/04 colleagues got notification from attorneys but I haven’t heard back till now. Does that imply that my chances are over? Three of them were informed at the same time. Does USCIS notifies sequentially?
Thanks Ram. Copied below is the response from the attorney.
—————————–
As explained before, I know the application reached the USCIS office because I had a fed-ex tracking for the package. The only acknowledgment we would have from USCIS is if your application was selected in the lottery. Otherwise, USCIS will send back the unselected application sometimes by mid/end of June.
Regards,
—————————-
Can i ask them to share the fed-ex tracking number/details for the package ?
at-least we confirm that its delivered to USCIS.
Is this a good management practice to ask fed-ex tracking number, please advice.
thanks.
There is no good and bad practice when your job needs to be done which is critical. You can ask for fed ex the tracking. But think Its past a month now they will definitely suspect you that you don’t trust them. If I were you wait until end of month and work on plan b. don’t ask for anything sometimes you got to blindly trust
Thanks Bolik, i will go with plan B.
I am AD. This is the second time I lottery H1B. Until now, I don’t receive any good news.
Do you know when is the deadline for notice?
Thanks
Anybody got receipt for H1b Regular quota ? It too much wait 🙁 How many days still we can hope ?
Unless USCIS says all unselected petitions has been returned, you have a hope. Its a slow process and goes till June. So please be patient and wait for the info. Good luck!
Yes. Check encased
Got receipt notice–very happy!
But it looks like the code under OCC is wrong. It’s 010, which is petroleum occupation? Will this be a problem in future?
Please check with your Attorney. Probably your LCA was for that position. If the job code is entirely different from the job duties and your profile, it may lead to RFE.
do checks get cashed even after data entry is completed?
It happens in some remote scenario.
I got receipt notice 5 days back. But I don’t see any update on sevp portal. I asked DSO for new I-20. Even they said, that they don’t see any update on my sevis. Does anyone have any idea on whats happening here? BTW I don’t have any cap gap. my STEM expires sometime at the end of next year.
They will update SEVP only if your EAD end date is before 10/01/2018. Since yours is in Dec 2020, they didnt update SEVP.
My wife h1b got picked in lottery. Attorney confirmed check was cashed was 02 May. She is Non AD.
Do you know which center did your wife apply ?
mine too encahed on may 3rd….i am non-AD
which center?
vermont
Thanks, congrats
How many time did she apply H1B?
Thanks
I think USICS(Francis Cissna) played some statistics in lottery this year,because lot of AD’s are selected this year only few Non-AD got their receipt
Received confirmation notice from USCIS today 🙂
Notice Date: 04/26/2018
AD/CSC/Fragomen
Lost hope for non ADs. Can we still hope or its all done?
Non AD – Mera number kab aaega ?
my recruiter told to wait till may end for lottery results not sure if that is true or not
can non-AD expect receipts even after data entry is complete?
Yes, but this year Non-AD is little bit slower comparing to last year
I am non AD and haven’t heard back yet. Anyone who has? Thanks!
no havent heard any still waiting
I am AD, if I didn’t get a receipt till now should i consider that most probably I wasn’t picked in the lottery?
anyone here who applied via envoy global? do they notify if checks are encashed?
Is it safe to assume that I got picked if my cheques are cashed?
Any Non-AD applicant received case number ??
yes
when did you receive the non ad receipt number
Are people still getting sevp updates today?
I think so, several people in IG reported SEVP updates.
No update from attorney/DSO/Sevp Portal/ i-20 expired in two weeks, Should I get ready pack and back home? Any suggestions?
AD
Any Non-AD applicant received case number ??
My receipt date is 25th. I am h4 ead applicant with AD. Not sure if I was selected in AD or non-AD. Anyone with a receipt date of 25th @ csc?
Hi DeSi,
You are H4 EAD. Was H1B selected the same time with you?
Thanks
Do AD applicants who do not get into Masters quota get pushed into the non-AD quota. If yes, does that mean if I am an AD applicant, I can still get into the lottery when USC starts to roll out receipts for non-AD applicants or is it game over for me.
You get a second shot at the lottery with nonAD
Any IBMers received receipt number?
Yes I did got a receipt last week
I contacted my DSO. I got below reply from my advisor. Can I come to conclusion now that I am not picked in lottery?
My OPT ends in December 2019…
“Your SEVIS record does not show a change of status pending. This may seem to indicate that your H1B was not picked in the lottery.
Please work with your immigration attorney. “
Your OPT ends only in 2019. Hence even if your picked in lottery your SEVIS record doesnt get updated. So never lose hope. Only for AD applicants whose visa expires before October 1,2018 the SEVIS record gets updated for cap gap.
My OPT period was just extended to September 30, 2018. AD H1B application. So keep the hope everyone! SEVP Portals are still being updated.
Which service center? Congrats!
Vermont! They are still updating SEVIS and SEVP.
Are you on cap gap? I mean is your opt period ending before sep 30th 2018
My OPT was set to expire on July 12.
If you don’t mind me asking, what letter does your last name start with?
Congrats!
When Non AD guys can expect for confirmation
after may 30 th
May 30th?? Or april 30th??
1) USCIS will publish a release that they completed data entry for H-1B cap subject petitions. It happened on May 3rd last year.
2) Notifications to attorneys of selected applicants will be sent by this date, after which attorneys will be able to update applicants.
3) After that USCIS will be returning unselected petitions till mid of July.
You can verify this timeline by checking the news on USCIS site for the last year and a corresponding post on this site last May which has lots of comments.
Bottom line, if you won’t get an update by mid-May, most likely your petition will be returned later.
Thanks, Ugly Bob! That’s the Golden answer. I would recommend it to anyone who is wondering.
Technically, if you don’t hear back before May 3rd (4th, 5th, etc.) it does NOT mean that you lost this time. You may still be selected after wiping off unqualified candidates who were selected at initial round of lottery.
Good luck to everyone!
What backup plans are you thinking about? Like apart from day1 CPT?
day2 cpt, day 3 cpt, day 4 cpt and soon.. lot of options
Attorney received receipt on 25th. AD and not in cap gap. No change of date on sevp portal. Makes sense because date change to sep 30th 2018 would result in shortening my actual STEM opt date from 2019. My understanding is sevp updates are only for those in cap gap
Congrats! What is the receipt date on the notice your employer received? Not the date when your employer received it.
Thank you. Receipt date is 18th April
how do you know it is not in cap-gap
Because my OPT period is not done yet. One is moved to cap gap when the opt period is completed and the candidate applied for their last H1B lottery.
So if ur opt ends in 2019 theres no way to know except from the lawyers
Yes I receive the info from my attorney
Yes I received the info from my attorney
Received a confirmation right now.
Non-STEM, no OPT, no CPT, so wasn’t able to see anything in advance.
AD, Vermont
have the h1 reciepts started flowing in for Regular Non-Masters ?
Still hw much time we have for non ad h1b
Mine is 3 rd attempt..
Hope May Mid we will updates or June..
My SEVIS portal got updated with a new end date on April 23rd.
Not sure it is an indication that my application got picked up in the lottery.
My lawyer hasn’t received any mail from USCIS. Waiting for them to get back to me.
Same to me, SEVIS account got updated with my employment end date to Sep 30th ( my OPT expires in Aug). I contacted ISSS at my school and they confirmed and provided me with recipient # for “change of status”.
I created account with USCIS and checked the status of my case, it indicated “we received your case” on Apr 23rd, and will contact if any more information is needed.
Same that lawyer hasn’t received any update.
It’s good news overall!!!
It seems that by now, the majority of the selected case should have got a receipt notice, right?
Hello everyone,
My attorney filed for my change of status to H1B under the Masters Cap. I am an Advanced (AD) degree holder, working in the US on my OPT, which is due to expire on June 30. Neither my attorney nor have I (I work for a start-up) received an update on the application. My application is filed at the Vermont Service Center. I am concerned with the future of my career in the United States, as this process of the lottery is apparently out of my control. I have three questions for people who can speculate for me.
1) How hopeful should I still be about expecting a SEVP update/ receipt for my H1b application?
2) Is the Vermont Service Center sending out receipts, or is it only the CA one? Also, what about updates for Non-AD applicants?
3) (This is a tough question to answer) By when would one recommend, that I plan to leave the US (the idea is to minimize costs of moving, flights, selling furniture, etc.), without knowing the status of my application?
I’m in the same boat with my STEM OPT expiring 6/14/18. No updates either on SEVP or from the lawyers yet.
Cornell was pretty helpful last year when I asked them to check my SEVIS and would themselves offer to keep checking every week, but they’ve been pretty unhelpful this year.
1. Personally, I’ve lost hope at this point.
2. Looks like both AD and VT have been sending receipts already: http://immigrationgirl.com/updated-h-1b-lottery-receipt-results-for-fy-2019/
3. My plan is to wait until early/mid May and then start preparations for my backup if I haven’t got a receipt notice by then.
And whats that backup?
backup is to packup
Sorry that you have to face some hard situation like this. I wish you all the best. To answer you questions
1. I think it is too early to give up. They generally send out notices till end of May.
2. Personally I don’t know anyone who got notices from Vermont. But I saw one user mentioning that in this forum. Didn’t know of any Non-AD applicants who received notices. Additionally vermont is the slowest processing center. You can go to uscis website and check the processing times. They take twice the time than California center for any type of petition.
3. I would recommend not to leave any time early. Hold on till your last week of OPT expiration. Maybe you can buy a refundable air ticket for the June 30th week. Also you may explore career options in Canada right away if you are interested using their immigration portal.
My OPT expires after 9/30. Still my SEVP got updated on 20th with the employer details. I have not heard anything from the lawyer yet . Is Anyone on the same boat ?
Coolbuddy, my OPT expires on 30th May. and don’t have any news on lottery!
If you were selected:
Can your SEVIS compliance official from your US university see an update on your profile? If there is no update yet does it mean that you were net selected?
I am just asking to see if everybody’s SEVIS profile would get updated and not seeing an update would mean that you were not selected…
P.S.: I don’t mean update on SEVP but any information that your SEVIS compliance official may have access to. Also, if your current OPT expiration date is after September 30 2018.
Anyone receives reciept number who were applied from india
For regular quota
Thanks
Phani
i applied from india still waiting for receipt.
Is it ad or non ad degree
NON AD
when ur cheque cashed
wait man .. India is like 16k kms away it will take time.. people in us still havnet got it…
Applied from India still waiting..hope it will start from May 1st for Non AD
check encased.
anyone from ncsu who got receipt number from dso through portal but haven’t received actuals notice yet?
I am in that boat. Been almost a week.
What is the status for AD Applicants? Any updates? DSO said no updates! Just active status – no response from lawyer !!
Is anyone with no AD( general CAP) got receipt or cheque cashed?
When I type in my receipt number in the USCIS site to check the case status it says that my case number is wrong. What do y’all think the problem is ?
Try it on this website is upto date.
https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/
I tried it there. It still says that my receipt number is not valid.
Hi, My receipt number starts with EAC18140, which I got from my University SEVIS records. Does it mean my case is picked in lottery?
Thank you.
Yes, you got selected in lottery. Enjoy the day
Thanks Kowthal, but my checks were not cashed yet, so I got confused.
Venkata, I’m in the same boat. My SEVP got updated, also got receipt number EACxxxx from my school’s DSO on April 20th. But my lawyers haven’t received the actual receipt notice, and the check has not been cashed yet.
So I am confused as well. Is this normal?
My friend was in a similar situation. Unfortunately for him the receipt was from McDonald’s where his DSO had lunch accidently uploaded the receipt into his SEVIS
Funny guy ?
Congrats, Venkata!
I will celebrate tonight you being selected in the lottery.
Good luck!
My lawyer emailed receipt notice to me today. My name is printed wrong in the notice. Will this be a problem ?
Please inform about wrong name in receipt to the lawyer immediately, it may get amended.
Hi ,
My wife has received receipt notice from USCIS. It says “Form I-797C, Notice of Action” on the header. There is a receipt number and “Case Type – I539”. There is a column with “Class Requested – H4”.
However, I have not received any receipt nor have i heard from my attorney about my application being picked in the lottery.
Does this mean my H1 is picked in the lottery? Please let me know!
Is it ad or non ad degree
Hi Confused,
yes! Your petition has been selected. There is no other way for your wife to receive I-797C unless potentially he or she or they or UNIDENTIFIED or NON-BINARY was filed as a spouse of another person whose petition was selected in the lottery. However I highly doubt that it the case.
Good luck and congrats!
Thanks Ramesh.
The attorney confirmed that he received the receipt today.
Can you please post the receipt number masking the last 4 digits please?
Why do you want to see the receipt number?
It’s irrelevant.
not for me
How do we determine the processing center of H1B petition? Does that work based on Employer Location or Client Location?
Thank You
Any news for NonAD?
Don’t think so.
I work at a lawfirm and so far we’ve only heard about AD Cases.
Thanks for an update
have you heard about any non-ad application
I have heard of Non AD too