[nylug-talk] OT: German talking

[Rajesh Menon]

On 9/13/07, Miguel Gonzalez Castaños <miguel_3_gonzalez at yahoo.es> wrote:
> I second that, the visa situation for H1b visas is difficult, the yearly
> cap is reached quite soon (there were plans of rising the cap?). The
> paperwork is filed in April/May and visas are handed in
> September/October,
>

I never understood this. Yes, I know there is a cap - currently,
65,000? - and I have seen many headlines about that cap being reached
in one day. If I'm not mistaken, all the big names apply in bulk and I
guess 65k is not enough.
In my experience, I had applied in August, and got the approval in ~3
weeks (the 'premium package'.) While applying, I was also told that it
might be late, and that the cap might have been reached. Thing is, the
immigration lawyer has access to the center, but they don't know the
numbers - so they can't tell you if you'll make it or not, until they
get the notice saying the cap was reached.
So, I don't know if it was an aberration for that one year I applied
in that the application was accepted that late, or whether other
people have got it after applying that late as well.

I also know people who have to stick it out for a year as dependents
to apply when the flood-gates open.
Aren't Germans eligible for the green-card lottery (I believe they are?)