Information Needed Urgent

What is the name of your state? NJ

What is the name of your state? NJ

Hello,

I am currently on my OPT and recently joined a firm which will sponsor my H1B. My OPT ends on January 2006. My Questions are as follows:

1] If my company applies for H1 B by April 1st (as I hold only a Bachelor's), When exactly does USCIS start processing the H1 B apllications? Is it after April 1st or October 1st?

2] How soon can I have my H1 B approved (given that I applied on April 1st)? What is the usual processing time for H1 B process?

3] What if the H1 B cap fills out and My H1 B application does not fall under the cap, then what happens once my OPT expires in next January?

4] Once my company applies for my H1, and I get my I-797 and LCA documents, what do these documents stand for? I know I-797 is only a receipt of notice of action but what is LCA for? Does it mean that I have been approved for my H1?

If you could answer above mentioned questions at your earliest, I would really appreciate that.

Thank You.

1] If my company applies for H1 B by April 1st (as I hold only a Bachelor's), When exactly does USCIS start processing the H1 B apllications? Is it after April 1st or October 1st?

The USCIS will start processing after you file your application. It need not wait till October 1 to process your application. However, the date of approval of petition will be no sooner than October 1st. It means that even if you get the approval notice in May or June, but you can be authorized to start work only from October 1st.

2] How soon can I have my H1 B approved (given that I applied on April 1st)? What is the usual processing time for H1 B process?

The processing times vary with the Service Centers. Usually it varies between 8-16 weeks. However, you can get a decision within two weeks with Premium processing, by shelling out an additional 1000 dollars. You can check the processing times at various websites eg:
http://www.visapro.com/Vermont-Service-Center.asp


3] What if the H1 B cap fills out and My H1 B application does not fall under the cap, then what happens once my OPT expires in next January?

Then you will either have to change status to any other visa or leave the US. If the cap is over and you have not filed your H-1B petition, then again, you will have to wait until October next year.


4] Once my company applies for my H1, and I get my I-797 and LCA documents, what do these documents stand for? I know I-797 is only a receipt of notice of action but what is LCA for? Does it mean that I have been approved for my H1?

LCA is Labor conditions Approval that your employer has agreed to the various attestations of Labor conditions regarding your work. After LCA an H-1B petition is filed with the USCIS which sends I-797 - Notice of Action, once when it receives your petition (Receipt Notice) and then when your petition is approved (Approval Notice).

You can have an excellent overview of the H-1B process at this website. They provide good information in simple language:

http://usimmigration.visapro.com/H1B-Visa.asp

Thank YOu

Hello Again,

Thank you very much for the information. It helped me a lot to understand the process.