I want to apply for H1B in 2014 as my OPT is valid till july 2014. Whats happening? C

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Admin]

I want to apply for H1B in 2014 as my OPT is valid till july 2014. Whats happening? Can I apply for 2014 H1B? What is this FY 2014?


This was posted on https://www.facebook.com/desiopt1 on April 6th 2013

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

If you want to apply for h1 in 2014 you need to be ready with all requirements before Month of April because as from what I know the fiscal year (FY) 2014 starts from April, and it is the time when most of the h1 filings are done.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

can h1b be filed next year? or is it needed to be done this year itself?

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

Nope the quota is full.
Since your opt is valid till July next year you can apply for h-1 and file for a CAP GAP. What it essentially does is it keeps you in status till your h-1 kicks in in October. So you don't need to worry.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

If you have joined the company on or before april 1st this year, the individual was eligible to apply this year. Since the dates fir this year has already passed, you'll be eligible to apply next year. Until then CPT will suffice ypur requirement, if you belong to the STEM category. This would allow you to extend your OPT to cover the cap gap between your OPT expiration and H1B stamping in October.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

Fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. So FY2014 starts on 1 Oct 2013 and ends 30 Sept 2014. The April deadline is because one is allowed to apply for H-1B 6 months before the start of teh fiscal year, so 1 Oct - 6 months = 1 Apr.

Unfortunately, the entire H-1B quota for FY2014 has been filled as of 5 Apr. (see http://www.hmalegal.com/2/post/2013/...your-move.html) and for now, FY2015 cannot be applied for until 1 Apr 2014. For people whose OPT cannot extend that far, there will have to be out-of-the-box methods that will have to be used in order to maintain status.