H1B Visa Stamping - Required Documents

I have been trying to write about the documents required for H1B Visa Stamping. Documents listed here for your reference Read more

Can H1B Visa Holders Change Fields?

I was thinking about writing about  H1B Visa transfer and changing jobs to different field with H1B Visa article for long time, but Jenna had asked a questions about applying for H1B Visa with a job in different field, than area of study. Question was asked in the comments of  H1B Visa Questions and Answers - 1

Jenna Asks

Hi Raghu,
First of all, I have found a lot of good information from your blog!
Thank you a lot!

Second, I have some questions for you.

I am currently a senior at 4-yr university, I am graduating next June (2009).

Since it is extremely hard to find a job that is related to my major so that it would be hard for me to use OPT with the job that is related to my major.

So I wonder it is possible that I get a job that is not related to my major by this December or early next year and then apply for H-1B in April
( I kind of got an offer from the company I did internship last year, but this company has nothing to do with my major) . However, I won’t finish school until June.

Thank you a lot!!!
Jenna

Can I apply for H1B Visa?

Good to see you have found some useful information from my blog.

Its my understanding you cannot apply, reason being USCIS is getting very strict and from Jan 2009, they are going to implement new Labor verification process. But, there could be a way if you can show relationship between the job you are applying for H1B and area of study, then you can certainly apply.

H1B Visa Fraud

In last 2 weeks huge H1B Visa fraud was found, where H1B Visa was approved for some professional job ans they were working with Laundry Machines and Dry Cleaning. 51 Such Cases was found. I will post a detailed report of H1B Visa Fraud.

Changing Fields with H1B Visa

I was able to get additional information from Immigration attorney Murthy.com  newsletter about changing fields with H1B Visa. This is what they had to say

Question :

I am on an H1B. I have a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. My current H1B job is a computer programming position. I have an opportunity to change to an engineering position. Can I do this? Does it matter that the job descriptions for my current job and my new job are different? Will I need a cap number to change to a different type of job? I thought there was a requirement that the jobs be the same or similar.

Answer :

It is NOT necessary for the new H1B job to be similar to the current H1B job in any fashion. What is necessary is for both jobs to meet the general H1B requirements for a specialty occupation. That is, the positions must require the minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a field of specialized knowledge. Of course, the foreign national beneficiary must possess the required degree or its equivalent.

Source - Murthy.com

Since Immigration Law is complicated, you will be in better position, if you can talk to an immigration attorney and get things cleared. Good Luck.

H1B Visa Questions and Answers - 2

Here second edition of Questions and Answers section for H1B Visa. If you have missed first part, here’s link to H1B Visa Questions and Answers 1.

Deepak - What does Case Received and Pending mean?

I got my approval notice .. but the online status says “case received and Pending” wat does tat mean..

It’s very interesting question. Comments was written to article that explains what Case Received and Pending means.

Nitasha From H1B Visa 2009 : Case Received and Pending

Hi Raghu,

Please let me know what does “Duplicate Notice Sent” Status means. Its been written under this status as your case is still pending and we will send you an update via email when your case is processed.

One of my friend got this as her status. Please help us know what does that actually mean.

My Case is still pending and we have observed one trend ..Maximum of the applicants whose receipt date is May 5th has their case as received and pending. Do you have any comments on this ?

Please let us know

Its my understanding that “Duplicate Notice Sent” means one of two things,

• New copy of approval notice was sent to replace a lost copy, or
• Your H1B approval notice was original notice of approval) was never received

There is no way you can observe any trend with respect to H1B approval. Infact I don’t think other than USCIS anyone will know how many receipts were sent on that day. I suggest you read the update from USCIS from H1B Q&A Part 1

Nagesh

Even my case was picked in lottery around mid May, and its still pending. Ask your employer whether he/she has received any communication.

Some times it can still be pending…while a approval/decline notice sent.

Other than waiting we have any option.

I don’t think there is any other option, since few cases that were selected in lottery is going to be rejected, because they selected extra H1B applications from lottery.

Dames From  H1B Visa 2009 : Case Received and Pending

Hello friends,

We should not worry as most of the pending cases will be cleared by mid of october. I am not sure but this was the information given by my consultant.

Be cool and have fun.

Rightly said, be cool and have fun. There’s nothing more we can do, till we hear from USCIS. Hope we get to hear some updates from USCIS.

Vidhya From What does Case Received and Pending mean?

Hiii…My H1B was picked on May 6th still it shows “Case received and pending” what does it mean its almost 5 months will I get an Approval or not?
Kindly assist

Will I get approval or not - Its hard question to answer. Getting selected in lottery is luck, but getting approval is pure luck. But, only think you can do now is to wait and hope. There are chances you might get rejection too.

max From H1B Visa 2009 : Case Received and Pending

Hi Raghu

i am in advanced degree H1 quota..i think the cap is 21000…it is mentioned on this site that according to last update 19500 have been approved..and 2100 are pending. Now, 21000 - 19500 = 1500 and 2100 - 1500 =600, this leaves 600. So does this mean that, in all, 600 people who have been selected in lottery in advanced degree quota will be rejected.

Please correct me if i m wrong!

Thanks

Advanced degree cap is 20,000. So, only 500 is remaining to be approved. 2100 - 500 = 1600 will be rejected. That’s what I read from Immigration sites I had posted.

Did you Pay for H1B Visa processing?

Hello everyone, there are many readers who are following H1b Visa approval results and few are still waiting to get H1B Visa approval. I have 3 questions to you.

1) Did you pay for your H1B Visa processing?

2) How much did you pay?

3) Did you have to sign any type of contract with your employer?

I’m just curious to know how many have paid for H1B processing. Leave a comment to this article.

H1B Visa Questions & Answers - 1

Most of the comments in last few days were about H1B Visa Lottery Results and about RFE response deadline. Yesterday I started writing about US Universities Q&A and thought this will be good way to answers some of the questions from H1B Visa related comments. Read more

H1B Visa Denied Based On “Wikipedia”

AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association) have asked few questions to USCIS about H1B Visa approval process. One of question was

AILA Question

At the conference, we discussed that members are receiving denials based on examiners use of “Wikipedia” as a source of information. We all agreed that Wikipedia was not a reliable source, as the purpose of Wikipedia is to allow anyone in the world to add to the content at any time. Please confirm that the Service Centers have been alerted to this issue and that Wikipedia will no longer be used as a source of information.

USCIS Response

SCOPS has notified the Service Centers of this issue and there should not be additional RFEs or denials citing Wikipedia. SCOPS requests that AILA provide examples to USCIS.

SCOPS stands for USCIS Service Center Operations. (Source)

Presidential Candidates Support Increasing H1B Visas

U.S. Presidential Elections is nearing and I have been following up with presidential elections since Primaries started in Jan 2008. Arizona Republican John McCain and Illinois Democrat Barack Obama have complete different personality and differ in views on energy, taxes, health care,. . But the presidential candidates agree when it comes to allowing skilled foreign workers into the U.S. under H1B visas.

H1B Visa Lottery was conducted earlier this year in April and still many H1B Visa applicants haven’t heard about their application status. Some of them received RFE on H1B.

Senator McCain View on H1B Visa

Sen. McCain continues to be a strong supporter of H1-B expansion, but mere expansion is not enough. Reforms should eliminate the artificial limits and allow a level of visas appropriate for market conditions,” said McCain campaign spokeswoman Ivette Barajas.

Senator Obama’s View on H1B Visa

Obama supports a temporary increase in H-1Bs. He also favors allowing more legal immigration into the U.S. and making it easier for foreign students who attend college in the U.S. to stay and work after they graduate. (Greencard) For more information read here..

Well, now you know where the Presidential Candidates stand and I will let you decide between “No H1B Visa Cap” or “Green Card in Less Time”. Last night according to CNN National poll of polls showed Barack Obama is leading by 2 points.

Difference between I797A, I797B and I797C

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

94% H1B Visa Applications Approved - Chennai Consulate

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

H1B Visa Mock Interview - Video

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

How can I know if my H1B Visa has been selected or not?

I’m responding to one of the comment under H1B Visa 2009 Lottery Results article. Let me explain what is my understanding how USCIS handles the H1B Visa 2009 Applications.

Once USCIS receive the applications, unique bar code was attached to the application and that bar code was used for random lottery selection. If the application selected will be then checked if its submitted under regular h1b processing or h1b premium processing.

If the application was submitted under premium processing, then H1B approval receipt will be mailed to the attorney who filed your H1B Visa application. You can contact the attorney to see the results. As per the interim final rules for H1B Visa 2009, H1B Receipt will be sent only to those application selected under lottery process. If your attorney received the H1B filing Receipt, then your H1B Visa for 2009 is approved.

Online Status Check

It’s not possible to search or look up if your application is submitted, before you get Application Receipt Number.

Once you have the receipt number, you can create an alert notification from USCIS Once your H1B Visa is approved, email will be sent to you, alert notification ca be created at USCIS Case Status Online.

One of the other way is check if the check you submitted for USCIS is cleared in your bank. But you will have to ask Attorney if the check they sent is deposited by USCIS. this not the right way, but can indicate that your H1B Visa is selected in random lottery.

Did you get RFE?

I have seen most of them who are writing comments here are waiting to hear about RFE on H1B. I have also posted an article that will help you understand more about H1B RFE Processing Time and when you can expect to hear something back. Good Luck.

163,000 - H1B Visa 2009 Applications Received

USCIS RELEASES PRELIMINARY NUMBER OF FY 2009 H-1B CAP FILINGS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree category.

USCIS expects next week it will conduct the computer-generated random selection process, beginning with the selection of the 20,000 petitions under the advanced degree exemption. Those petitions not selected under the advanced degree category will join the random selection process for the cap-subject 65,000 limit.

USCIS will reject, and return filing fees for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected, unlessfound to be a duplicate. USCIS will handle duplicate filings in accordance with the interim final rulepublished on March 24, 2008 in the Federal Register.USCIS will provide regular updates as the processing of FY 2009 H-1B cap cases continues. ( Source of the Article )

-USCIS-

Keywords: h1b applications filed 2008, h1b applications number 2009, h1b applications 2009 count, h1b application results, h1b application results, h1b cap 2009 results

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