The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed the H-1B cap after receiving excess applications within first 5 days of filing season. A week later it completed the computer based selection process/lottery process and also announced that Premium Processing shall begin from April 27, 2015.
The premium processing would include petitions from individuals with a U.S. Master's degree or higher who seek exemption. The news release by the USCIS said, "Will begin premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting premium processing, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher."
For H-1B petitions, premium processing will be done in 15 days processing period set by 8 CFR 103.7(e)(2) and it is expected to begin next Monday i.e. April 27, 2015.
H-1B cap of 65,000 for general petitions and 20,000 for advanced US degree petitions will be processed soon to ensure that selected candidates are able to join employers by October this year.
Individuals who have submitted their applications and are waiting for an update from USCIS can subscribe for email updates from USCIS. You can visit this USCIS page to receive updates on your application.
Source: USCIS
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