The Saga of H1B Lottery

30Apr08

I really never believed in lotteries, cos I was sure I wasn’t gonna win one. And there’s no fun in buying a lottery ticket and waiting for the results when you know you have only 0.01% probability of winning it. I’d rather play Blackjack or poker and loose money than do the same with a lottery ticket, in the formers I’d atleast have had fun.

This all started one year back at the time of H1B visa applications* (make sure you see the footnote if you have no idea of the H1B application process), when the general category went over the cap on the very first day and a random selection was applied to it, the Adv. Degree cap was however spared as the cap wasn’t reached for about a month. Then began the speculations of both the categories going into the random selection for this year. This was the favorite topic of every debate and discussion in the home. feeling bored? Guess what? We have H1B to talk about and worry about. We didnt ever expect that the extrapolation techniques we learnt in those stat classes could be put to use in life, Stat pros started extrapolating H1B applicant number for FY2009, drawing histograms representing staircases and linear ramp graphs. H1B was pretty much the subject of all debates and discussions, arguments and opinions. The ever optimistic me, still believed that the Adv. Degree cap would last atleast for a week this year.

I really never believed in lotteries, but i didn’t know USCIS had different plans for me. Finally the day came which I marked in my calender as ‘THE BIG DAY’ and yes, both the categories went over the cap and the applications were to be picked via a random selection, in uncomplicated non-euphemistic English – Lottery. The speculation turned into a nightmare, only that it had a recess (which was the extension of OPT*). Retaining work in US came down to the flip of a coin, and so what did I do? I flipped a coin. Coin flipping site became the most visited site by me and probability class came back to use. Stat pros took in charge again, calculating the probabilty of getting selected in the Lottery and almost everyone seemed to have their own magic number. Guys bad at stats resorted to God, I even called up an overnight bhajan* and suggested that everyone sleep during the day at work and do bhajans* in the night so that their application will be picked. Fingers were crossed all the time anyway.

The Real Big Day was the one when USCIS conducted the Lottery. Heartbeat skipped when a friend informed that he was picked in the Lottery, the Time has come, the Time came indeed. Then the Forum freak took birth, started investigating the ‘other’ ways of knowing if my application was picked in one of the several forums, dedicated to the topic. The one obvious way in all the posts was to check if the application fee cheques had been cashed. I ran to our cashier and asked her to check the cheques. Fits of panic came to me when she informed me that my cheque wasn’t cashed. I asked her if it was canceled, she said it was still outstanding. So I still had hope. I called in my Attorney to check if she had heard something, she hadn’t, either ways. But she promised to inform me as soon as she knows the result, whatever it be. While i was trying to work normally, every few minutes a friend was informing me that he had gotten through the lottery. Why God! Why me! I was sure I wasn’t gonna win one .

It was time to get off work and I was happy that I wont have access to net for sometime. Sometime being 15 mins, the drive from office to Home. My Roomies also hadn’t heard of anything which kinda calmed me, If I’m going to hell, I dont want to be alone. Then it was about 10.30 in the night, I checked the office email. Voila !!!!! The lawyer had emailed me the application receipt which meant mine was picked in the Lottery. I laid to rest in my grave(bed) with some costco wine and grape juice. Apr 15: H1B application picked in the Lottery. Apr 21: H1B approved. Apr 29: H1B Documents received.

Footnotes:

*H1B visa applications: H1B is the work visa which allows a non-immigrant worker to work in United States. The stipulated amount of quota(cap) is 65,000 visas for general category and an additional 20,000 visas for people who hold an Advanced Degree from a US university, per Fiscal year. If the number of applicants exceed the cap in the first two days of accepting applications, the applications to be processed are selected via a random selection.

*OPT: Optional Practical Training under which a foreign student graduated from a US University is allowed to work in United States.It has been increased from 12 months to a whopping 29 months.

*bhajan: A ritual where groups of worshipers sing holy songs to worship God.

Filed under: Humor, Issue, Life   |  30 Comments
Tags: H1B, H1B FY2009, H1B Lottery, H1B visa, US work visa