More Details Released on FY H-1B Lottery 2013
April 8, 2013
The USCIS on April 8 issued an update on what has happened so far with the fiscal-year H-1B lottery process — and what to expect in the coming weeks. Details of that press release include:
- USCIS received a total of 124,000 petitions within the first five days of April (the "filing period"), which includes petitions filed on behalf of U.S. advanced-degree holders.
- The USCIS held a lottery yesterday, Sunday, April 7, 2013, to first select a sufficient number of petitions needed to meet the cap of 20,000 for U.S. advanced-degree holders.
- The U.S. advanced-degree petitions not selected in that lottery were added into the general FY H lottery, which also was held April 7, 2013. In the second, general lottery, a sufficient number of petitions were selected to meet the cap of 65,000 for the general category.
- All FY H-1B lottery winner petitions requesting premium processing will be processed starting April 15, 2013.
WSM Clients: For FY H-1B lottery winners, please note that it may take the USCIS several weeks to issue receipt notices. During this time, we will be unable to provide any affirmative updates on the status of petition filings. As always, we will notify clients immediately with case updates by USCIS such as receipt notices. For FY H-1B lottery losers, we will also notify you immediately if we receive returned H-1B application packages and will strategize on ramifications and possible options.
