As of April 7, USCIS had received nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2009 H-1B cap. More than 31,200 of those petitions were for the advanced degree category. On April 14, 2008, USCIS had run the random selection process for these petitions.

Based on the numbers reported by USCIS, we calculated that a petition’s chance of being selected in the first round of lottery is about 64%; and 41% in the second round of lottery. Please note, there are 6,800 H-1B numbers reserved for Chile and Singapore citizens. As advanced degree petitions have two chances to enter the lottery, the chance of an advanced degree petition being selected is about 80%; and the chance of a standard quota H-1B application is 41%.

Here is the original announcement from USCIS:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions, to select which H1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would continue to full adjudication. If approved these H-1B petitions will be eligible to receive an H-1B visa number.

USCIS conducted two random selections, first on petitions qualifying for the 20,000 “master’s or higher degree” (advanced degree) exemption, and second on the remaining advance degree petitions together with the general H-1B pool of petitions, for the 65,000 cap.

The approximately 163,000 petitions received in the first five days of the eligible filing period for FY 2009 (April 1 through April 7, 2008) were labeled with unique numerical identifiers. USCIS has notified the appropriate service centers which numerical identifiers have been randomly selected, so each center may continue with final processing of the petitions associated with those numerical identifiers.

Petitioners whose properly filed petitions have been selected for full adjudication should receive a receipt notice dated no later than June 2, 2008. USCIS will return unselected petitions with the fee(s) to petitioners or their authorized representatives. As previously announced, duplicate filings will be returned without the fee. The total adjudication process is expected to take approximately eight to ten weeks.

For cases selected through the random selection process and initially filed for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins today (April 14), the day of the random selection process.

USCIS has “wait-listed” some H-1B petitions, meaning they may possibly replace petitions chosen to receive an FY-2009 cap number, but that subsequently are denied, withdrawn, or otherwise found ineligible. USCIS will retain these petitions until a decision is made whether they will replace a previously selected petition. USCIS will send a letter to the wait list petitioners to inform them of their status.

USCIS expects that for each of these wait-listed petitions, it will either issue a receipt notice or return the petition with fees within six to eight weeks.

– USCIS –

---

For many people, an O-1 visa is a good alternative if one cannot get an H-1B visa. O-1 is a nonimmigrant status category for aliens of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. It allows qualified aliens to live and work in the United States. Our experienced attorneys can help you apply for an O-1 visa. If you want to apply for an O-1 visa, email Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) with your questions, and he will get back to you quickly—typically within 24 hours.
Zhang & Associates, PC.
Houston ∙ New York ∙ Chicago ∙ Austin
Tel：1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email: @hooyou.com">info@hooyou.com
website：http://www.hooyou.com