The filing window for the Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B cap opens today, and the last date for USCIS to receive petitions is Friday, April 6th. Here’s what happened when last year for comparison:
Last year, USCIS announced on that same Friday that it had received sufficient petitions to reach the cap.
Last year, on April 13th, we started seeing filing fee checks cashed although USCIS had yet to announce that the lottery had been completed.
Last year, USCIS announced on April 17th that the lottery was done as well as the total number of petitions that had been filed (199,000 last year). Our office also started receiving the first receipt notices on April 17th last year. (There was also a fake screenshot that went viral last year about the number of petitions filed, so beware!)
What questions do you have about the lottery? Ask below and I’ll do my best to answer! To avoid repeat questions, please read through the comments before posting your question 
I’ve also posted a timeline of what to expect over the next 6 months as the process unfolds at: http://immigrationgirl.com/lottery/