The H1B1 visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa that temporarily allows foreign nationals to work in the United States. There...
The
H1B1 visa is an employment-based, non-immigrant visa that temporarily allows
foreign nationals to work in the United States. There are Fiscal Year caps on
the number of permits issued divided into a general category and the advanced
degree exemption.
Since there are only a limited amount (65,000) of H1B Visas allocated each year under the general category, not all applicants can be granted an H1B Visa. Like other applications for employment visas, this one needs to go through 3 stages:
- USCIS
- Department of State
- Consulate (or Embassy)
However, because there are many more applicants than allocations for these Visas under the general category, not everyone who applies will get one; they will be chosen by lottery. For more information, you could always consult with an immigration law firm you trust.
Applicants who are chosen in the lottery then go to the second stage, where they apply for an H1B Visa stamp at their closest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If their number is high enough (no one knows exactly how high this number is), they will get an H1B Visa issued based on when they applied under the general category.
If they do not get issued a visa, they go back into the pool of applicants and can try again next year! This is why it is important to keep applying every year. There are no guarantees that you will be selected if you don't have a higher number.
Remember that while you cannot change jobs without risking deportation while holding an H1B Visa, you can switch H1B Sponsors. This is why it's important to keep applying every year if you want a higher chance of being selected!
How the Lottery Works
You can apply for an H1B Visa on April 1st - or the first day that applications will be accepted for that year. If you file before the deadline on April 1st, your application goes into a pool with all other applications filed on the same day.
Then, USCIS uses a random lottery system to select processed and issued Visas. As there are more applicants than allocations under the general category each year, not everyone gets given one; this is why it's so important to keep applying each year!
The lottery process has been used since 2004 when the company applied for 212,500 H1B Visas in October and got over 236,000 applications. Your immigration lawyer can assist you when it comes to getting an application.
Since this process was implemented in April 2005, they have received more than enough applications to use up all of the Year's Visa allocations under the general category most years.
This is why it is important to keep applying! Every year you use increases your chances of being selected in a future year's lottery!
What Are The EXTRA visas?
In the past few years, there has been an "EXTRA" number of visas allotted so that not everyone can be selected from the same day, with USCISreceiving too many petitions on April 1st. In the Fiscal Year, 2009 USCIS received 172,500 applications and used a random lottery to select 65,000.
There were still 35,000 visas available, but they could not be issued until October 1st, 2009, because the Fiscal Year ended on September 30th, 2009. Immigration attorneys could help you prepare in advance for this.
In 2011 there were no "extra" Visas allotted, and USCIS received about 124 thousand petitions in the first five days of April 1st, 2011. The number of H1B visa petitions in Fiscal Year 2012 reached approximately 172,500, and USCIS used a random lottery to select 85,000 applicants.
The number of applications received in 2013 hit about 172,900, and 79,000 were selected by lottery. The number of petitions in 2014 hit about 172,500, and 159 thousand were randomly chosen.
What Happened Last Year?
In Fiscal Year 2015, there was an increase of 20,000 additional visas given for advanced degree holders - this meant that only 85 thousand people would be granted Visas from April 1st, 2015.
USCIS received 233,000 applications and used a random lottery to select 65,000 applicants. This is why it is important to file early every year!
Can an Immigration Lawyer Help You Get An H1B Visa?
An immigration attorney can help guide you through the complicated process of filing for an H1-B visa. They can review all your paperwork and tell you if any requirements hinder you from obtaining your H1-B Visa.
Immigration lawyers will also prepare you for your interview with USCIS, which is often the most stressful part of the application process. While many people can complete their interviews without much assistance, others feel more secure having someone by their side who knows what they are doing to support them throughout this critical phase in the application process.
What Is The H1B Cap Exempt Petition?
Suppose you are working as a Computer Specialist or as an Engineer in certain states, as indicated on our State by State list here. In that case, you may be exempt from the H1B cap because what constitutes "specialty occupation" may vary depending upon where you apply. You can still qualify even if applying for a job not located in one of these states!
To be exempt from the H1B cap, you must meet all of the following conditions:
- Your employer offers you a job as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer, or another similarly skilled position in one of those states.
- Your employer has made the appropriate filing with the state workforce agency for that state, indicating that it wishes to hire someone for this particular position and sponsor them for a non-immigrant visa (H1B).
- The appropriate state workforce agency has determined that there are not enough U.S. workers who are willing, qualified, and available to accept the job at the prevailing wage for this particular occupation. This may take several months or years!
- Employer submits an H1B petition for you to USCIS and requests that it be considered exempt from the cap because there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available.
How Will You Know If You've Been Selected?
Suppose you have been selected to receive a petition under the random selection process. In that case, you will receive a receipt notice from USCIS that includes your petition's case number and a Form I-797 Notice of Action that indicates that they have received the petition.
If
you are selected, this is also your official notification from USCIS to start
planning your trip to the U.S.
