Today, after receiving nearly 233,000 petitions, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it conducted its lottery (a computer-generated random selection process) to select the H-1B petitions that it will adjudicate for the 65,000 general-cap and 20,000 master’s cap visas available for FY 2016.
All unselected petitions will be returned with their filing fees, unless the petition is found to be a duplicate filing. Affected foreign nationals whose petitions are not chosen will be unable to obtain an H-1B visa until the next fiscal year and may be required to forgo employment with employers and possibly leave the United States. In such instances, employers will need to consider alternative visas for affected employees.
USCIS reports that it expects to begin premium processing H-1B cap cases by no later than May 11, 2015.
Continue to check back with us for updates on the status of this important immigration development. Our firm is available to assist with your immigration needs. For more information, please contact Maria del Carmen Ramos at 813.227.2252 or mramos@slk-law.com.