H-1B Visa 2009 Lottery Results

It’s expected that about 150,000 H-1B Visa petitions will be filed for the 2008 – 2009 fiscal year, where there are only 20,000 visas for advanced degree holders, while from the remaining 65,000 visas, 1,400 H-1B visa numbers are exclusively available for Chileans, while 5,400 are set aside for Singaporean nationals.

Companies that are planning to move operations to Vancouver, Canada and have existing visa applications will automatically have their applications rejected in the lottery system.

The new H-1B season (2009) is about to start and it’s expected that the USCIS will receive a higher number of H-1B visa applications compared to last year.

You can find details about the available H-1B Quota numbers for 2009 and the H-1B Visa 2009 lottery results from 2008 here:

New and stricter H-1B Visa 2009 Hiring rules law was proposed. If passed, some companies cannot hire H-1B visa workers.

The USCIS has announced that on April 7, it would stop accepting applications for H-1B non-immigrant visas for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 2009.

Within a day or two of this deadline, the USCIS is expected to conduct a computerized draw of lots to decide among the applicants who would get the H-1B visas to work in the U.S.A.

Students who are currently in OPT can extend the OPT period to another 17 months, which now totals to 29 months. This came as a much welcome development for some students if they happened not to get H-1B visa approval through the lottery system.

However, students who are already graduating are not eligible to apply for the new 29 month OPT, since it only applies as an extension for existing OPT proponents and requires the payment of additional fees.

 

April 8, 2009

After the USCIS had selected a total of 85,000 H-1B visa applications, chances are, if they happen to find H-1B visa petitions in Consulates around the world when candidates appear for H-1B visa interviews with missing or faulty documents, those applications will be rejected.

This is based on the Interim rules for H-1B visa approval.

So, in order to accommodate those H-1B petitions sent with missing documents or faulty documents, the USCIS will approve more that 85,000 visas. However, it wasn’t disclosed how many additional petitions will be approved.

June 5, 2008

There is a long delay in the processing of H-1B visa applications this time. I know a few who got RFEs in October for applications filed in April in regular processing. It’s easier to update to premium processing then to wait (if possible).

June 2 was the deadline set by the USCIS to send all the receipt numbers to H-1B visa applications selected in the lottery.

It was D-Day for many H-1B visa applicants who are still waiting to hear about their H-1B visa lottery results.

But so many comments in the articles in this blog say different stories.

1. Majority of the applications filed under premium processing heard about their results
2. H-1B visa applications submitted in regular processing results are not 100% available
3. Some of the checks have been cleared, indicates their H-1B applications have been selected in the lottery
4. But those whose checks have been encashed by USCIS are yet to get their receipt numbers
5. No one has received any rejection notice so far.

From above views, I certainly feel the USCIS has not yet completed processing all applications selected under the lottery.

If the USCIS was able to process all the applications that were selected in the H-1B visa lottery, then those applications should have received their receipt numbers by now.

So we just have to wait for 2-3 more weeks to know what’s the status of the H-1B lottery results.

September 29, 2008

This article will be a welcome relief for many H-1B visa applicants who are still waiting to hear from the USCIS about their H-1B Visa application status.

Many of our blog readers have ‘Case Received and Pending’ statuses, while many have received RFEs and are waiting to hear the H-1B visa approval results.

The USCIS have released some numbers that will help you understand more about what’s going on and how much more applications will be processed and it might not be good news to a few who are still waiting to hear about the results.

If you were wondering if there is a deadline to know when the H-1B visa will be approved; the answer is no.

To date

• Total H-1B Petitions Approved –  59,100 petitions under the regular cap
• Pending approval – 9,500
• Master’s cap approved – 19,500 petitions
• Masters Cap Pending –  2,100

This accounts for 92% of the regular cap allotment which is being reached already, and 97% of the master’s cap.

Around 95% of the regular cap petitions have been touched, while 94% of the master’s cap petitions have been touched.

That leaves 3,500 petitions untouched for the regular cap and 1,400 untouched for the master’s cap. The USCIS expects to get to all of them shortly, but it may not be done by October 1.

What these H-1B numbers mean to you

Some 3,600 H-1B visa applications selected in lottery will not get an H-1B visa approval notice.

Getting selected in lottery is one big step towards receiving an H-1B visa, but getting to know about rejection after 7 months wait is tough to take, but that’s life!