4/16/2008 - USCIS Announces it has Completed Lottery to Select H-1B Cases for Processing
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has completed the lottery process to determine which of the H-1B cases received in the first week of April will be accepted for processing both under the 20,000 U.S.-University Advanced Degree cap and the 65,000 general H-1B cap. Recall that, as expected, far more H-1B petitions were received that allowed for next fiscal year under these numerical limits for the second year in a row, with a lottery process as the only fair way to determine who will be given one of these coveted specialty-occupation visas.
Of the cases selected in the lottery, USCIS expects to take action on those filed under Premium Processing by the end of April (Premium Processing normally requires a 15-response window from filing, and this response can be approval, denial or a request for additional evidence). Case filed without Premium Processing requests and the additional $1000 fee will supposedly be handled within the more typical H-1B processing time - normally about 12 weeks.
Although some filings not selected in the lotteries will be kept and placed on a "waiting list," it is unclear at this point how many cases will be wait-listed (USCIS has not in the past released this information). Cases not maintained on the waiting list will simply be rejected (not denied, but simply not accepted for filing) and returned. USCIS does not cash government fee checks or money order for these rejected cases.
Most of those who filed H-1B petitions should be informed relatively soon as to whether their petition will be processed or not, thus allowing them to plan appropriately for the coming year. Those who are wait-listed are placed in the most precarious position in some ways; they may still be able to avail themselves of H-1Bs but without this certainty all planning in necessarily tentative.
Employers seeking initial H-1B visas for the next fiscal year, and the potential employees they seek to sponsor.