Hey, I hope to convince my employers to file an H1B for me this year. I wanted to know from people who have more idea about this.
1. What would be the best timeline to work on this? (LCA and document preparation to meet the April deadline)
2. Ranges for lawyers cost involved? (Application fee looks like 1700 for my case) Would love any recommendations as well.

The new rule changes on H1B filings seems to be going strong. However, most online articles seems to recommend to prepare as usual. Any input will be very helpful

Thanks.

Prep would start from September. Many small companies will have most work done by the HR folks themselves and have a lawyer for some jobs. Things to remember:
Did you fake your resume? Cant put that experience,
Lied about h1b while on OPT, may be hard to convince manager.
Does the company even do H1b?

Hey maxpayne,

September, seriously? No fake, No lying about H1B. Got this job fresh outta grad school.

The company has never filed for H1B, but are willing to sponsor me. They are unaware of the requirements and so forth. I thought Febraury was a good time to kickstart the process. What would take such a long process that we have start prep from September, I'm curious. Thanks.

Yes, if its a company that has never sponsored, they will need time. Many places dont realize that sponsoring isnt that easy, when a lawyer starts requesting documents for their ability to sponsor, things get bit complicated. Start early so that if you choose your own lawyer, you have enough time to gather everything. Technically the company is required to pay all the fees. They may not be aware of extra costs and things required to do the LCA.
I have seen cases where even though the companies will agree at first they will back out once the scope is clear. If this happens you are the one who suffers, and wont have enough time to find a job else where.

you should go hire a lawyer soon. H1b filing is a long process in itself. Company will have to show that they put effort on hiring locals during recruitment phase. They also have to do pre vailing wage determination, after that recruitment, labour certification and all.

Here is a link that describes the process. Hope this helps! It usually takes 4-5 months to get it done assuming everything goes smoothly.

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/timeline-labor-certification-process.html

Thanks guys for the response.

What a bummer. Is it possible if I kickstart the process now? Can I even make it for this year?

It's been more than 5 months that I've been working there, and they've been posting advertisements for hires lately, for similar positions.

Just out of curiosity, is it advisable to file green card directly rather than H1B? If the cost is similar, it'd for sure be a shorter route. I still have 2 more years of my STEM opt left. Is it worth gambling?

Green card is a lot more painful process and will cost a lot more than H1b. If your employer is willing to sponsor you, atleast you won't have to worry about landing a lottery as in H1b. The whole process will also take a long time. Around a year to do the labour certification and all and then move on to the next (18-24 months) I would say these days.