So...I think you might have to take your mask off..
Oh yeah I forgot
(chuckles)
So hey guys, today is a very special day
Today I have gotten the e-mail..
from my company or from my lawyer about my H1B petition results.
So as you already know that, every year..
company files for the H1B petition, which costs only 10 dollars for the lottery
So..that was filed on 25th of march and...they got to know about the results on 31st March
but I got to know about the results little bit late through my lawyer
So finally I'll be reading that e-mail and.. I think it has a good news!
So before I read my e-mail, let me give you some background
So that you also come to know what is going on in my mind
So let me introduce once again
I am currently a student on F-1 visa
and I currently have a status of OPT, that means..
I am on training on my student visa and I am currently working as a software engineer,
from the last 8-9 months on F-1 visa
So..on this status, let's differentiate
OPT versus H1B
So.. First most priority for me is traveling because I want to go back to India as...
often as possible..at least once in a year right?
so..uh..travel bans, so number 1 category will be travel bans on both these status
Number 2 will be that, uh, peace of mind!
So.. let's talk about that as well
And, talking about travel bands,
Currently as I will be applying for STEM OPT extension
that means I will be extending my work permit because in US you first get 1 year of OPT, then you extend it
then you extend it by 2 more years, if you major is of STEM..engineering, math, science etc
So I have to get it extended
Let's talk about travel bans, so on OPT,
when I will apply for STEM OPT extension,
I will have the travel ban for 3 to 5 years
Let's say April to August...
Now, on H1B, if it gets selected then my travel ban will be for..around..April to October as far as I know from people who got H1B last year.
Now talking about peace of mind, I think it will be more on H1B, I am not 100% sure
But less on OPT because it is little bit easier to switch jobs and..
there is peace of mind that if you get your H1B for unlimited times approval you can stay here for longer. So that's more on H1B
Now talking about taxes,
So that is, the taxes of FICA, you won't have to pay on OPT but you have to pay on H1B. So you will save more money on OPT
If you have student debts, you can pay them little bit easier on OPT
And another interesting thing that can happen is.. student discounts.
So, if you will be on OPT, you will get student discounts, your student id, your student e-mail will continue for one or two more years
So that means that if, I don't get selected, I'll save more money with student discounts and less money on H1B
So, now let me read my email and let's see what happened
So out of my friend circle to be honest I have some friends in Amazon, Microsoft, even my roommate has it
out of all the people I know, only a handful people got selected in the H1B lottery this year
Because usually around 200000 people apply for the H1B lottery petition,
but this time, around 275000 registrations were there
out of those, 85000 will be selected
so that's why the probability of getting selected was less and since none of my friends got it,
my decision was also that I didn't get selected,
but I'm really happy because whenever anything happens to you, there's always a positive as well as a negative side to it
and I'm just thinking about the positive side that I'll get my student status, my student ID will be continued
but the only thing is travel ban and my F-1 visa is getting expired
so that means, If I go out of US, I'll have to get my F-1 visa re-stamped as compared to H1B re-stamped in October...
if I had been selected. If selected, I would have gone for the H1B stamping but now I have to get F-1 re-stamped because it is expired..
but the good thing is, in US if you want to stay, you don't need active F-1 visa but you need to have active status
for example my OPT or work permit is active, so I can stay in the US
Visa is only required to enter the US, as long as you are not going out of US, you don't need to have your F-1 visa extended...so it's okay
But anyways, now let's get started with the process of getting extension of my work permit, that is STEM OPT extension!
Nowadays I am using mama earth's new range of body wash and my favorite is charcoal body wash by the same
they have so much of options that it becomes difficult to choose. I have tried all of them, but my favorite is "Charcoal body wash"...
because it's fragrance is so good... it lasts all day long
And it's texture is so so unique that the lather formed is plenty and it's super fast as well...
extra lather increases the showering speed and mint acts as an antiseptic and together as a combination, my skin remains soft all day.
The best part is that all mama earth products are 100% natural and environment friendly and PETA certified
and if you will order on their website, then they will link your order on their website to the tree that they plant
and by 2025, they plan to plant around 1 million trees
and if you use my code Harnoor2021 then you will get around 20% discount as well
Packed my college bag and all set to go..
First of all I have to go to make a passport sized photo before my hair gets messy
(car keys upstairs...)
Car servicing has to be done as well..it's saying maintenance needed..
Parking is very expensive..excuse me, can I exit out of the parking? It's really expensive!
(repeats)
So, finally found parking, this is hourly parking and they will charge 2 dollars per hour here..and I have to park parallel here..
So, first of all passport sized photograph at FedEx and then printout..
Just checking my hair..
Lady: Take your time!
So...I think you might have to take your mask off..
Ohh! yeah I forgot!
so, done with the photos, now I am going to GSU library
I don't know if I have still got access but I will get to know today!
I don't know why they make me look like a gangster every time, without a smile on passport sized photos
anyway guys, library is on the way there!
So, since today is a working day all campus buildings are open
and this path is closed too..
So I have to go that way!
Quite a long form it is..
According to the USCIS website, I just need three thing to apply for STEM OPT but the university says that there are around 10 documents,
so I have to print all 10 of them
passport is done..
and being student, it is so nice, firstly the printing was totally free, so I think I paid around..
I mean, every semester 3 dollars are being added to my account so by that the printing has been done for free
because the school added it. And other then that, now I have to go to Grofers, I will buy groceries from there
And again I have to spend 410 dollars for money order totaling to 500 dollars for STEM OPT
and my parking is only till 7 P.M so I have to run fast to make it
limousine (car)
finally made it at 6:50
It's too hard to drive on downtown! You may need to apply the breaks at any moment
So I couldn't send my application to USCIS because one more form needs to be filled..there are way too many steps!
I need to fill a form called I-285, signed by my manager, then send it to university, they university will give me another I-20
and..after all those documents are combined with the 410 dollars money order, I'll be sending ti USCIS
So, I spent 500 dollars today just like last time, and..uh.. it will take 2 to 5 months as they say, but it can take longer as well
I've seen cases that took 7 months sometimes.. back in 2019, not sure about this year,
I wish, I had started bit early, but its not a rush because they say that even though you are having work permit that, let's say is
expiring on July, you can still work for six months until the decision comes from USCIS whether you got accepted or not
So it's not the rush, and many many congratulations for all those who got their name picked up...
There was too much competition this time
and I hope those who needed it most, got their name picked. I have seen a lot of cases in which they got it in their 3rd attempt!
Non-STEM majors, who get only one chance of H1B lottery, they got it as well
But, those who have got more chances left, they will definitely get it next year
And talking about me, I don't care as I haven't yet planned anything about living here or there.
I will juts go with the flow wherever the journey takes me
So..that's it for today, thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you guys in the next one. Goodbye!