I was reading the comment written by Arjun for the article - How can I know if my H1B Visa is selected in Lottery. That’s the first time I knew there is I797, I797A and I 797B. I googled to see if I can find the difference between I797A and I 797B. Here are some results I was able to get following answers. Read more

If H1B Online Visa status shows RFE- Does that mean my H1B Visa is rejected? No, its not. You still have one last chance to prove your case is valid.

But, all the work has to be done by the attorney, if they need more information, I’m sure they will get in touch.

Many of them have asked about RFE in the comments section How do I know if my H1B Case is selected or not?

What is REF?

RFE stands for Request for Evidence. Read more

It’s always interesting to know the statistics of U.S. Consulate especially information about percentages of H1B and F-1 Visa approved in U.S. Consulates. Students and others appearing for Visa interview at U.S. consulate during summer months will know what I’m talking about.

94% of H1B Visas granted in Chennai Consulate

I happened to read some very useful statistics one can know about any U.S. Consulate, which will give insight into how many applicants get H1B Visas.

• About 94% H1B Visa Applications granted
• About 12% receive 221(g) initial denials
• About 6% of H1B Visa applications are rejected

More details statistics about Chennai consulate can be found from Murthy.com.

F1 student Visa Approval Percentage?

It will be very interesting to know about F-1 Student Visa approval percentage in Chennai U.S. Consulate. But, its well know fact that, having original documents for F-1 visa and knowing about few F-1 Visa interview tips will increase the chances of getting F-1 student visa. I have collected few original documents used by students during F1 Student Visa interview.

Image Credit : Schnittke, Capture queen

I found this nice mock interview video for H1B Visa Interview, it will give insight on what to expect during the H-1b visa interview at U.S. Consulate. Watching the video again and again will definitely give you an edge. Make a note of all the questions asked and if you have already looked at different places looking for H1B Visa Interview questions and looking at this video will help to understand how to answer the questions

H1B Visa Mock interview will also help students preparing for F-1 student Visa interview at U.S. consulate.

H1B Visa Mock Interview

After H1B Visa Application is selected in lottery, next step is to get H1B Visa stamped from the U.S. Consulate in home country. This is different case when person who applied for H1B is already in U.S.

Getting H1B Visa in lottery is something great, we don’t have any control or can influence the selection process, but curiosity/thrill is not over yet, until H1B Visa is stamped in the passport. There are chances where H1B Visa stamping can be denied during the Visa interview.

…… consular officers may issue visa 221(g)s because applicants do not appear to meet the minimum requirements for temporary work classification or these applicants’ employers have not demonstrated the ability or intent to comply with the requirements of the requested visa categories.

Consular officers have also delayed or denied H1B visa applications - particularly for IT consulting firms - because they determine the employers in these cases do not have bona fide positions for the beneficiaries. Instead they unlawfully are “benching” employees awaiting work…. read more from murthy.com

More information can be obtaiend from the above link. But, even after getting H1B visa stamping, entry into U.S. can be denied at port of entry too. More details later.

H1B Visa approval process is almost over. Few are still waiting to hear back from USCIS. I saw many comments asking about next steps after H1B Approval. I plan to write about in coming weeks.

There’s still time to prepare for H1B Visa interview process. So, I will write about the process in coming weeks. In meantime, I will pass along any information about H1B Visa, Immigration law changes and other interesting articles.

All the articles in here from personal experience. If you seek professional advise, please consult an attorney. I just wanted to make sure people don’t get hurt or get bad results strictly following what I say/write here in this blog.

I have read so many comments about people still trying to find about H1B Visa application status and wondering if their application is wait listed, where the receipt will be sent. USCIS has clearly stated in previous correspondence and from AILA News conference and updates, there are No wait listed applications. Almost all the H1B Visa applications that were not selected in lottery were returned to Attorney’s. H1B Applications will be returned only to the attorney or person who filed the application. I can think about few possible reasons why many are still waiting to hear about your H1B Lottery status

1) Your consultant must not have heard from the attorney about your rejected application

2) Attorney could have informed to you employer/consultant, but they haven’t informed you

3) Attorney could have received the rejected application back from USCIS, but yet to inform your employer.

4) It could also because you have been not following up the H1B Lottery process, Updates from USCIS, updates from AILA website, Forum messages and other sources.

One thing that annoys me is, I have been updating the results about the H1B process for last 2-3 months and explaining whats going on with USCIS, but blog visitors read one article, and still being ignorant of H1B Visa lottery selection process, try to get information from one article, which is not possible. There are regular readers who have been following up the process, who knew all details about H1B lottery, receipt details, who have been reading all the updates in here are well informed. Its sad and I feel bad to say this, but that’s the reality. If you looking for some kind of information, you have to search for it, just by writing comment and spending less than 1 minute reading an article will not get you results. Can I still wait for H1B Results? It’s my understanding that USCIS have already sent all the receipts to H1B Applications selected in the lottery and rejected applications were almost returned back. USCIS will complete returning all the applications back by next week. Can I re-apply for USCIS to reconsider my application? I was so mad when I read that above question as one of the comment. And I did really wonder how people can be so ignorant about H1B visa process, when they have applied for H1B Visa. But, answer is no, you will have to apply for H1B next year. I was little harsh on people who were ignorant of the H1b Process. But, thats the reality and congrats again to those who got selected in the lottery and hope for the best in Next year H1B Lottery ( maybe ).

USCIS has completed the random computer selection process and shall complete sending out the rejection notice for petitions unselected by next week. There will be no visa available for applications previously being put on the waiting-list. USCIS has received sufficient applications to exhaust all the visa numbers for the fiscal year of 2009. USCIS will complete the adjudication of all accepted H-1B filings by August 2008. Source : Zhang and Associates

Last week there was update from AILA and other sources that H1B Visa application that were not selected in the lottery were being returned back to the Attorney. But, yesterday there were couple of comments about their applications have been sent back.

I just heard back from my attorney that they started receiving the rejection letters today.

I am the first one to inform this news here.My long wait is over.My application has come back to the consultant.I am not selected in lottery..I am on H4 ,leaving my job in IBM,Bangalore.I am waiting to collect my cheque.Please don’t lose hopes and please don’t be desperate.God has kept a good plan for all who are not selected.

As per USCIS, they will complete the process of returning the applications back by end of this month. There are few alternatives that are available for students who are here in U.S. but for those appliants who applied from their native country, your company can try L1 Visa.

Good to see many are getting their H1B Visa Receipt numbers. But, the comments so far shows, many are not clear about what is “Case Received and Pending’.

When your H1B application is selected in the lottery, USCIS will send a receipt number that will uniquely identify your case ( your H1B Visa application). Here is the list of services available when your status is ‘Case Received and Pending’

• Accelerated Processing
• If Your Case Is Outside Our Current Processing Time
• Processing Times and Case Status
• Services Available to You Anytime While Your Case is Pending With USCIS
• USCIS Expedite Criteria

If you are still not sure what does that mean - here is my explanation/understanding of ‘Case Received and Pending’

• First, your H1B visa application is selected in lottery.
• USCIS will issue receipt number to identify and track your H1B visa processing status.
• It will take usually 2-3 months to approve your H1B visa petition. If you have applied through Premium processing ( by paying additional $1000), after H1B petition is selected under lottery, within 2-3 weeks, USCIS will approve your H1B Visa application and send hardcopy Form I-797 H1B approval notice. Form I-797 is the official approval notice that will serve as the proof of H1B approval. You will use I797 while appearing for Visa interview.
• If you have submitted H1B visa application through regular processing then USCIS will take 2-4 months to verify your documents and your credentials and send the H1B approval I-797.
• If you receive the I-797 H1B approval before that, you should feel lucky. So, if your H1B status shows, Case Received and pending, you got H1b Visa - Congrats. Here’s an detailed description of different ways available to check H1B visa processing times.

Thank Kay for your comment. I will post your comment as an article, so it will be visible to everyone.
USCIS Service Center Operations has provided the following information to AILA liaison regarding processing cases under the FY2009 H-1B cap:
1. Except for cases that were being reviewed as potential duplicate filings, all receipts have been issued for those cases selected in the random lottery. The CSC and VSC completed data entry on all selected cases on May 23, 2008, and mailing of all receipts was completed on may 24, 2008.

2. Cases that were thought to be duplicate filings are being hand reviewed to determine if they are true duplicates. USCIS has received approximately 500 petitions that are believed to be duplicates. However, some of these were submitted as “protective filings” due to courier delivery confirmation problems or where the petition was sent to an incorrect Service Center. Each will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If the second submission was accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the second submission, there is a good chance of acceptance.
3. USCIS has determined that the number of petitions selected during the random selection process will be sufficient to meet the cap limit. Therefore, the use of the reserve/cushion will not be necessary this year. USCIS has begun to mail out rejections this week.
I found this from AILA……

I read from couple of sources that USCIS have started sending the mails with Receipt Number on May 24 2008 and they have completed sending H1B Visa Receipt Number for H1B Visa Applicants selected in lottery.

Also, USCIS completed mailing the receipts as per previously established deadline of June 2 and they started sending the applications that were not selected in lottery from this week. So, by end of this month, all the unlucky H1B Visa applications will be mailed to the concerned Attorneys office. Hard luck guys this time. You can read more about this official notification at Immigration-Law.com

I have read so many comments about students, professional who have applied for H1B Visa and few were lucky to get through and many weren’t lucky enough. Some of them weren’t lucky enough for 2 times and also few had applied for 2-3 positions, but couldn’t make it. Once, I have official PDF document from USCIS, I will upload it here. In coming days, I will explore about other options available for those who didn’t make it in the lottery process.