USCIS Received Over 236,000 H-1B Petitions and Has Completed Lottery Selections

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received over 236,000 H-1B petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 9, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process, or lottery, to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 general-category cap and the 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees, unless the petition is found to be a duplicate filing.

The agency conducted the selection process for the advanced degree exemption first. All unselected advanced degree petitions then became part of the random selection process for the 65,000 limit. Last year USCIS received approximately 233,000 H-1B petitions, so we can expect a similar rate of acceptance of our H-1B filings this year. We expect to begin receiving receipt notices for Premium Processing cases shortly and will keep our clients updated as to the cases that are selected for processing. We may need to wait until the end of May or even later to learn whether standard processing cases have been selected for processing.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap will also not be counted towards the congressionally mandated FY 2017 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

• Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
• Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

 

Disclaimer
This information is for general use only. You should consult a licensed attorney for legal analysis and advice regarding the specific details of your case.