USCIS Completes Data Entry and Receipting of H-1B Cap Petitions for FY2018

Many of our readers are aware that as of April 7, 2017, USCIS had received a sufficient number of H-1B cap-subject petitions to fill the annual H-1B quota. As USCIS has been issuing receipt notices for the H-1B cap cases which are being selected for processing, we wanted to provide an update as to how long will H-1B petitioners and applicants wait to hear whether their H-1B petition has been selected for processing under the H-1B cap.

H-1B Completes H-1B Petition Data Entry on May 3, 2017

USCIS has just announced that they have completed the data entry and receipting of all selected H-1B cap petitions. This means that the last set of receipt notices are about to be sent out. Here’s USCIS’s announcement:

USCIS announced on May 3, 2017, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS is unable to provide a definite time frame for returning these petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of submitted cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition is returned. USCIS will issue an announcement once all the unselected petitions have been returned.

Based on this announcement, we expect that it may take another week or so to expect to receive H-1B cap receipt notices for selected cases. Afterwards, USCIS will turn its attention to sending out the H-1B non-selection notices and document packages back.

Receipt of Rejection Packages Can Take Weeks

Please note that given the number of rejections USCIS will have to send out (~115,000), we expect that it may take at least several weeks before all H-1B lottery rejection packages are sent back and before knowing with certainty that a case did not make it under the H-1B cap lottery.

Was My Case Selected for Processing Under the H-1B Lottery This Year?

• We should know if your case was selected under the H-1B cap lottery by mid-May.
• If we do not have news by mid-May, it is likely that your case was not selected under the H-1B cap lottery; however, the actual rejection notice may take several weeks.

H-1B Cap Alternatives

We understand that there are many of our readers and clients who may not  have heard any news about their H-1B cap case so far and that the chances for selection are getting dimmer.    Our office has compiled a selection and overview of the most common H-1B cap alternative visa options.

Conclusion

Our office will continue to monitor developments relating to the H-1B cap season. In the meantime, please feel free to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to obtain developments on this and related topics. If our office can be of any help with any of the H-1B visa alternative options, please feel free to contact us.