Schedule and key points of H-1B visa application in the United States in 218

The H-1B lottery has always been an unspeakable pain for international students studying in the United States, and the H-1B visa can be officially applied on April 2 this year. Next, I will bring you the schedule and main points of visa application. Let's take a look.

1. 218 H-1B application time node

April-submit LCA application

Before submitting H-1B application for you, the employer must submit the application form of Labor Condition Application to the Ministry of Labor, and provide materials that can prove that your salary has reached the preventive wage, the employment duration is full-time/part-time, the work place and so on. The trial time is 7 days, and it is approved.

April-Immigration Bureau officially accepts the application

Confirm with employers and lawyers that all the application materials are complete. All H-1B applications should be sent to the Vermont Service Center or California Service Center of Immigration Bureau, preferably on April 1st, so to calculate the mailing time, you can choose to send them overnight by express mail on the 31st and on April 1st. It is best to copy all the documents for backup, which may be used in case of RFE.

if you are a master cap, be sure to mark it clearly on the envelope, otherwise it may be thrown directly into the regular cap. Courier Address if you send it by express.

mid-April-it's time to draw lots to see luck

The time varies every year, but it's basically in mid-April. The regular number of places for H-1B is 65, per year, and there are 2, places for master's degree or above per year.

lottery process: 2, applicants with master's degree or above will be selected first. If they are not selected, they will be selected again with the rest of the undergraduates. Therefore, the winning rate of applicants with master's degree or above (about 5%-7%) will be slightly higher than that of undergraduates (about 3%).

mid-April-May-the lottery results are beginning to appear

Under normal circumstances, once you receive the receipt notice from the Immigration Bureau, or find that the Immigration Bureau has cashed in the application fee, it means that you have been drawn. If you don't draw, the applicant's application package will be returned in 4-7 days. Under normal circumstances, the lottery results will be known from the end of April to the beginning of May.

May-September-material review period

The lottery doesn't mean that H-1B has arrived, but the lottery only means that your materials are eligible for trial. If you don't draw, the immigration bureau will return them directly without reading them.

expedited processing: the applicant has to pay an expedited processing fee of $1,225, and the Immigration Bureau will issue the processing result within 15 natural days.

normal trial: under normal circumstances, the examination and approval time is about 3 months, and the trial results will basically be received between the end of May and August. If RFE(Required for evidence) is adopted, the trial results may not be obtained until September or even October.

October-H-1B status comes into effect

Under normal circumstances, the small partners who pass the trial can work as H-1B! But if you don't get the results after October 1 ... just ... wait! You can also try to submit an expedited application.

Note: If the applicant is still under trial at this time and no result is obtained, then the applicant whose OPT has expired will have to stop working on October 1st. You must wait until H1B takes effect before you can work legally.

two, three things that determine your fate in this year's H-1B lottery

1. Don't miss the time to submit materials

In recent years, because the number of people submitting materials for H-1B is far more than 85,, the Immigration Bureau will announce that it will stop receiving them after the first week of April. The first working day in April is the first day for the Immigration Bureau to receive the materials. It should be noted that it is absolutely impossible to hand it in early! Even if it arrives one day in advance, the materials will be returned, so you can't participate in the lottery.

2. The same company and the same person, don't submit multiple materials

Some companies have multiple subsidiaries, and the boss will help employees apply for multiple H-1B in order to win the lottery. If there are multiple different employers for you, this is allowed by the Immigration Bureau. However, if you want an employer to submit multiple copies of H-1B for you, this will not work!

3. Don't procrastinate, and prepare materials as soon as possible

Many applicants are at a late stage due to procrastination, and will not start preparing materials until mid-March. This is no good either! If the materials are not prepared on time, it will not only affect the accuracy of the materials, but also affect the time of submitting the materials. I suggest setting aside at least three weeks to prepare the materials. So, start your H-1B application today!