USCIS received 199,000 H-1B petitions during the first week of April to meet the 65,000 visa regular cap and the 20,000 master’s cap for the coming fiscal year. The good news is that the investment risk is reduced from last year; there is almost a 43% chance of a petition being selected. Our office is already receiving receipt notices, indicating that the case has been selected for the lottery, but we anticipate that it will take the USCIS some time to complete the entire H-1B lottery selection process.
Please keep in mind that USCIS suspended premium processing on April 3rd for all H-1B petitions for up to six months. This includes cap-exempt petitions and extensions. We will be watching the lottery results carefully and will inform our clients when their petitions have been selected. Remember, it’s based on luck of the draw.