Confusion about H-1B cap count

[coria]

Hi, I came across two statements seem contradictory to me, could any one help to clarify?
1st one from "https://www.immihelp.com/h1b-cap-petition/", it is saying "as the demand for h1b visa under regular cap is much higher compared to the availability, the employers should start contacting the attorneys three to four months in advace of April 1 to make sure that the petitions are prepared on time and filed on April 1. For the past few years, the entire fiscal year cap is filled on the same day. in fact, it is oversubscribed to such an extend that petitions need to be selected on a lottery basis"

while, on USCIS website it says "On November 22, 2011, USCIS received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the statutory cap for FY 2012".

Question is, how could USCIS receive sufficient number of petitions until so late in Nov 2011? as per 1st statement, shouldn't it already have reached FY 2012 cap soon after April 1, 2011? and if I ask my employer to start filing H1 from now on, what is the earliest time I can get the VISA and start travel(suppose everything goes fine)?

Thanks!

[kabkaba]

Since the last three years, demand has been low and cap is being reached late. Your employer can file their petition on or after Apr 1, 2012 for a start date of on or after Oct 1, 2012. After petition is approved, you can obtain the Visa from a Consulate/Embassy and travel to US up to 10 days before the start date.