Thank you for your interest in working on your H1B lottery entry with Corstange Law Group! Below is an overview of the process and timeline.

To hire us, a company representative who is authorized to sign legal documents on behalf of the company will need to sign our representation agreement and pay the invoice for our attorney fee up front.

After the agreement has been signed and the invoice paid, our Case Coordinator will email a list of documents and questionnaires we need from the company and the employee, as well as instructions for setting up an online USCIS account for the company. The Case Coordinator will answer any questions you have about the questionnaires, documents, or account setup.

Because the number of lottery entries an H1B applicant will be given this year is determined by the wage level of their position, we will carefully consider the options and discuss with the company to select the best SOC code and wage level consistent with the job offered to the H1B candidate.

Because this year's lottery selection process is determined by the wage level used on the LCA to be submitted with the final application, we will file the LCA to lock this in and ensure consistency throughout the process.

We will draft the form necessary to submit the lottery entry in the online USCIS portal.

We will send the company the completed application through the online USCIS portal. The company representative will review the application and request edits, if necessary, before approving the application in the portal.

When the filing window opens (exact dates TBD, likely the first 2-3 weeks of March), we will submit the application through the portal and pay the government filing fee. We will invoice the company for the filing fees.

The lottery will be completed no later than March 31. We will check the portal and notify you if you have been selected. If you have not been selected at this point, your process will stop for the time being. Your entry will be held and considered for further lottery selections that may be held in the summer or fall if there are still H1B slots left after the spring batch has been adjudicated. If you have been selected, proceed to the next step.

Now that you have been selected in the lottery, we must now prepare the full H1B petition to show that the candidate and the job qualify. We will draft all required application forms and a company support letter in support of the petition.

USCIS still requires wet ink signatures from a company representative on the LCA and support letter. We will send pdfs of the final documents for you to print, sign in ink, and scan back to us.

We will send the company the completed application through the online USCIS portal. The company representative will review the application and request edits, if necessary, before approving the application in the portal.

We will submit the application through the portal and pay the government filing fees. We will invoice the company for the filing fees. The filing window for full H1B petitions is open from April 1 - June 30. (Keep in mind that applications for people working on OPT must be filed prior to OPT expiration to benefit from automatic work authorization extension if required.)

Your receipt notice with case number will be available in the USCIS portal shortly after submission. We will send it to you along with instructions for how to track your case progress online. .

If you opted for regular government processing, USCIS does not guarantee processing times, but many applications are adjuducated prior to the H1B start date of October 1. If you opted for Premium Processing, USCIS guarantees to take action within 15 business days (not including weekends or federal holidays). Within this timeframe, USCIS will either approve the case, or request additional evidence (see details below). If you originally opted for regular processing but later want to speed things up, you can upgrade to Premium Processing at any time. Even if the application is approved prior to October 1, H1B status will not take effect until October 1.

While we make every effort to avoid an RFE by preparing thorough applications, sometimes they are unavoidable. If your case receives a Request for Evidence, we will have up to 87 days to respond. If you have opted for expedited Premium Processing, USCIS will issue its final decision within 15 business days of receiving our response. If you have opted for regular processing, USCIS aims to issue the final decision within 60 days of receiving our response (but they do not guarantee this).