USCIS has announced that as of 04-13-2009, it has received approximately 44,000 H-1B visa petitions towards the 65,000 regular cap and approximately 20,000 H-1B visa petitions for the U.S. Master’s or higher degree quota. On April 9, 2009 USCIS had received 42,000 general cap petitions.
For cases filed for premium processing during the initial five-day filing window, the 15-day premium processing period began April 7. For cases filed for premium processing after the filing window, the premium processing period begins on the date USCIS takes physical possession of the petition.
USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of FY2010 H-1B petitions [ via USCIS ]
Read H1B FY 2010 Frequently Asked Questions
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{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Sir
My specialty is diagnostic cardiovascular ultrasound and my lawyer has presented the application to request the visa H1B under the regular quota and by regular processing on behalf of the interested Health company on September, 2009 . At this time we were informed that there were enough cups . Unfortunately after 8 months later ( June 2010) we have not yet been notified by the USISC in anyway and this is becoming me crazy. Please help me .Which are the possible options of this USISC silence. What should we do ? Thank you for you kind attention to this issue.
Hi my initial OPT end date is September 19 ,2009.MY H1 got approved and it is only for 6 months.I have seen in the forums that if I am outside of the US on october 1 then my H1 got invalid and can reenter to US on OPT.So my question is can i apply for OPT extension even though my H1 was approved.
Thanks
AR
HI reddy,
if you want to convert your OPT to H1B from October 2009 onwards, then no need to apply for OPT extension again. Your OPT s automatically extended till Septmber 30 2009 (if your H1B start date is Oct 1st, else it extends until ur H1B start date).It is because under the cap-gap rule of OPT those employees who are working for a e-verify enrolled employer are eligible for this oppurtunity.If you are not working for a e-vrfy employer then i am not sure whether ur OPT is extended or not. Unless you or your employer cancel ur H1B it is actve. If you plan to go to India before ur H1B start date and return after ur H1b is started then you need to go for US consulate for stamping again. It just hardly depends on your presentation at the consulate. In case if ur h1b is not approved by the consular official then u need to think of other way which s ur OPT extension
Hi, I done MBA from India and having 3+ years of experience. My employer in US applied for my H1, but from last more than a month on uscis it is showing ur case recived and pending. Itis in vermount center.
Ins rcvd my application on 24th April. Pls can anybody guide me that how much time it will take to process the case & is there is any high chance for getting my H1 approved as less guys filled H1 this year.
Could anyone refer any trusted consultants who can file H1B visa for me. I am working professional in India, have 6+yrs of experience in embedded systems..
I have applied for H1 transfer two weeks back. I am still waiting for my receipt to come by. I was under the assumption that receipts
for premium processing was done by email and later with a hard copy. I have not received anything till now. They have recived my petion application. Has anybody have received email notification
from USCIS for receipt or approval before receiving hard copy of it for PP.
hi all,
Currently I am on my initial OPT period which ends in July 7th. My employer filed for my H1B on April 1st. I got my H1 approved. My H1B effective date is October 1st. Since my H1B is approved, do i need to apply for my OPT extension(17 month extension)?. Can any one please tell me what we will be my status from July 7th to Oct 1st. And whether i need to apply for OPT extension or not?
Hi everyone,
My employer filed my H1B (regular processing) on April 1st and my start date is Oct 5th.
I am graduating with MBA degree on 15th May and haven’t applied for OPT yet. here’s my question:
1) Since only 44,000 applications were received so far…is it safe to assume that almost everyone (with proper work papers etc) will get approved for H1-B??
2) I didn’t apply for OPT since I would have heard back at least by last week of June, and I can apply for OPT within 60 days after graduation (which is 15th July for me) and if approved for H1B – I wouldn’t need OPT at all – is it OK to follow this thought???
Please advise…
thanks
Sweta.
Sweta,
If you don’t plan to apply for OPT and if your H1 is approved, what will be your status from July 15 till Oct 1, 2009? I suggest you apply for OPT so you can work from July 15 to Oct 1, 2009. My understanding is you will be out of status if you don’t apply for OPT.
Im on L1b applied for change of status and got H1 query.What needs to be done now.Is H1 query means the petition is pending or rejected?.Please help
Guys, I do not see on USCIS website or any other website (apart from this) that this count (44,000) is as of 04-13-2009. Do you guys have any idea on this?
Hi everyone,
I have question, I was full time with company got layoff, then i applied for H1 transfer.
I got query on that and i am sure it may get reject also.
My question is can i apply for new H1 under 2010 cap(not H1 transfer,again H1 transfer will have the same problem)?
Please reply if some one has idea.
thanks
sridhar
I got recepit number on 18 th april by regular processing
Which service center Varun did you file in?
California
masters or general?
Varun ,u have master’s degree? i was also filed thru california service center…still waiting…
My company applied for a premium processing and we have not yet received any information from USCIS. Not even receipt number. I am scared. Is there anyone who has applied for premium processing and not got the receipt number still?
I have a question,
Are all 44,000 applications (from April 13th) accepted as of now or some will be denied?
Deborah
That’s interresting, I knew about April 9th number of applications received since it is pubished by the INS itself. But I wonder where you got the info about the amount of H1-B applications received as of April 13th. WOW! Well, I might have a chance to apply by the time I am allowed to since I was not eligible for April 1st… (Need to be away for an entire year after having an H1-B for 6 years already)
By the way, congrats to those who are already approved!
What I’ve heard is that you can file your H1 application on April 1st as long as you have been out of the country for 1 year by the time you start employment.
So let’s say you left the US on Nov. 2008 :
– by Nov. 2009, you would be out of the US for a year
– you can file your application on April 1, 2009 but must
indicate that your start date will be on Nov. 2009
Can anyone else confirm this?
the earliest u can file ur h1 petition is 6 months prior to indicated start date… so if start date is nov 1, the app cannot be submitted before may 1
In the last 2 years, the H1b cap was filled-up on the 1st day, leaving no chance at all for those whose start date would be later than Oct 1st. The 6-month prior application then, was deemed impractical.
My application was filed on April 1 even if my start date is on Nov. 2. I received my receipt notice yesterday. It’s still just a receipt notice but at least it hasn’t been rejected outright because of the file date start date conflict. Anyway, we’ll see…
i got my approval notice! =>
Did anyone process through Nebraska service center and hear back? I have filed under Masters quota and premium processsing but received nothing – neither receipt notice nor approval/ denial notice.
I have applied H1 through normal mode not through premium. Can i know anyone received approval notice from USCIS.
I’ve just got the approval notice for my H1B. And my firm did not use premium processing at all.
Just to say thanks for all the updates from this blog. Its a great place for information! Keep it up!
congratz! good job… is there anybody else got theirs?
Is it MS quota??
Hi,,
Just to make sure,You got your approval notice or receipt number?
Coz, I guess its little early for approval to come through via regular processing.
Please confirm!!
Thanks
Yes, it was approval. Receipt was 1 or 2 weeks back.
And yes, am under advanced degree cap.
Congrats R.
What is the Notice Date on receipt notice?
Wow,thats great!! and its real quick that you got approval at the same pace as premium processing.
Congrats!
Thats good news that they have started looking into normal applications too..Though its not even a month, its so hard to be patient
Which service center?
Hi, R…
Are you under advance degree cap?
Congratessss!! I wish you good luck.
anybody here under regular processing thru california service center who got their approval notice already?…
i applied for h1 on april 1 2009 ,my opt ends in dec 2009.I was wondering if my application gets rejected than can i apply for opt extension in october?
As one might guess, it depends on the reason of rejection.
If it is due to any issue on the employer filing your H1B, then i guess it might be difficult to get OPT extension.
could you explain ? my company is really small only 6 people but it is not desi consultant but a genuine company…all americans…i’m the first desi their
Then, don’t you worry!!
Just sit and relax.
I’m sure you will 100% get it as long as its a genuine employer.
But, you may get RFE as your employer might come under small scale organization.
But still you should not have problems with that.
I am presently living in USA on L1b visa and applied for H1b.
When can I join my sponsoring company at the earliest possible date?
Can I join immediately after getting approval? or is there a time limit for starting date like October 1st?
earliest start date is oct 1…
RFE Question. In the website, when I check the status, it says, they mailed RFE on April 13, 2009. I applied with Premium Processing. My question, whoever received RFE or knows, did you get RFE by mail or fax? How long it took after they ‘mailed’ RFE? My processing center is CALIFORNIA. Why would it take so long for mail to arrive? I am really worried, because it will delay everything and things will be pushed back. Please help!!!
I have very basic questions . please answer me. Thanks.
1.I have applied for H1b through regular mode.
When can I apply for premium processing? Can I apply for premium after getting the receipt number only or before that?
2. When can I join my sponsoring company at the earliest possible date?
Can I join immediately after getting approval? or is there a time limit for starting date?
You can either apply for what u call “regular mode” or premium processing. The whole point of applying for premium processing, is getting ur receipt number within 15days of submission.
if approved, the earliest u can start working is oct. 1st
***Correction***
You can either apply for what u call “regular mode” or premium processing. The whole point of applying for premium processing, is getting ur ***response***(approved/declined) number within 15days of submission.