The information gradually seeps out....

OK, this is all rather complicated, but first of all let me cut and paste most of the announcement that came from USCIS on April 14th 2008:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions...for the 65,000 cap. The approximately 163,000 petitions received on the first five days of the eligible filing period for FY 2009 (April 1 through April 7, 2008) were labeled with unique numerical identifiers. Petitioners whose properly filed petitions have been selected for full adjudication should receive a receipt notice dated no later than June 2, 2008. USCIS will return unselected petitions with the fee(s) to petitioners or their authorized representatives. As previously announced, duplicate filings will be returned without the fee. The total adjudication process is expected to take approximately eight to ten weeks. For cases selected through the random selection process and initially filed for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins today (April 14), the day of the random selection process. USCIS has “wait-listed” some H-1B petitions, meaning they may possibly replace petitions chosen to receive an FY-2009 cap number, but that subsequently are denied, withdrawn, or otherwise found ineligible. USCIS will retain these petitions until a decision is made whether they will replace a previously selected petition. USCIS will send a letter to the wait list petitioners to inform them of their status USCIS expects that for each of these wait-listed petitions, it will either issue a receipt notice or return the petition with fees within six to eight weeks.

OK, so here's my take on the above: First of all they gather all the files collected during the five day window. They number them 1 to 163,000 and then let a computer randomly select 65,000. These 65,000 are divided between fast-track who will be informed within 15 days of their final status (namely that their paperwork was filed correctly, that they have not been flagged as having any criminal convictions or perversions, and that the US Government have granted them a visa), and those that were non-fast-tracked will be told their final status by 2nd June. But, I believe, all of these 65,000 will have been given (well, their sponsor will have received for them) a "receipt notice", which they can use to track the status of their case on the USCIS website. A further number of files will be have been retained as reserves to replace any of the 65,000 that aren't finally taken, but may not be told for 6-8 weeks, with the remainder being returned to the sponsor. So, either you get a case number, you get your file returned, or its retained for 6-8 weeks as a stand-by, but stand-by's will get told they are in the stand-by group. I got a RECEIPT NOTICE. My sponsor told me I could follow the progress of the file on the USCIS website. I BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THE 2008 LOTTERY. And just to tie up a couple of loose ends in the story thus far: I did eventually receive an LCA (Labour Conditions Agreement) from the Florida company, and could see that they were offering half the salary of the Californian company. The Florida company never did send me any kind of legal contract, and they haven't answered my very direct question of whether they had fast-tracked my application or not. The law firm has said that I should hear the final answer of my petition within 15 calendar days from the 17th of April, which according to my maths means I should get an absolute 100% rock solid answer by May 2nd, so I just have to wait a very little bit longer (its now May 21st 2008) to hand my notice in, and sell the furniture, and book some long-haul flights ONE WAY!! I shall of course have the concluding update to this section of my blog series as soon as I hear the news, and then I can start on the next part of the process, namely my internship, which will run under the http://naplex-test.blogspot.com/ blogsite. Farmacyst