I'm in the process of applying for an H1B visa and I already have a company willing to sponsor me, but the instructions state that the application should be received in USCIS after the 1st of April, and if possible right that day (since the quota is filled very quickly according to previous years).
For the H1B, I also need to fill a DS-160 and schedule an interview at the consulate. The results of that interview take around a week or 10 days, and that leaves me with no time to do it before the 1st of April (I have to travel to get to the nearest consulate). I can't really find this googling but does the interview need to be done before the 1st of April or is it done afterwards? In the required 1st of April paperwork, USCIS doesn't mention the interview at all, so I'm guessing the interview is the last step of the process, done after the visa pre-approval roughly in October?