As you all know very well, there are 65,000 regular and 20,000 master quota H-1B slots available, of which 5,800 are reserved for Singapore and Chile. In 2016, there were 233,000 applications, which means a large number of them will re-apply in 2017, who are still maintaining their F-1 status either in OPT/CPT. Here are some interesting stats released by the the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) as part of their SEVIS by the Numbers report.

Highlights
• 1.11 million F-1 & M-1 students currently study in the United States.
• 42 percent of all F-1 & M-1 students, or 466,964 nonimmigrant students, study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in the United States.
• The number of active F-1 & M-1 students studying in the United States grew from 1.05 million in July 2015 to 1.11 million in July 2016,
an increase of 5.5 percent.
• The number of active STEM students studying in the United States grew from 405,308 in July 2015 to 466,964 in July 2016, an increase of 15.2 percent.

The sheer volume of F-1 students who will potentially apply for H1B next year can make your prospects of being picked in the lottery look dim. But there is not much you can do to change the numbers, other than making sure that you are employed by a company that has good knowledge and track record of immigration.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask – FORUM