U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this week that it will conduct a second random selection to reach its 65,000 visas allocation for regular cap cases submitted during this year’s H-1B registration period.

Employers who receive new selections will be notified via email and on their USCIS Accounts (MyUSCIS account). Employers will be able to file H-1B visa petitions for H-1B cap cases selected on this second lottery round. USCIS did not indicate when it will complete this selection process or when it will notify employers, but it is expected to occur soon.

The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant employment visa issued to workers who will work in specialty occupations (typically those requiring at least a bachelor’s degree). Each year, USCIS allocates 65,000 visas for regular cap cases requiring at least a bachelor’s degree and 20,000 advanced degree cap cases (those requiring at least a master’s degree). On April 1, 2024, USCIS announced that it had completed its H-1B cap selection process (65,000 regular bachelor’s degree and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap cases), as discussed in this previous Alert. Each year, employers submit H-1B visa registrations to USCIS in March, and USCIS announces results in April. The traditional H-1B visa petition filing period runs from April 1 to June 30 each year.

After receiving H-1B visa petitions for this year’s H-1B cap, USCIS concluded that it needs to select additional H-1B cap cases to meet the regular cap allocation of 65,000 visas. This second lottery round will consider H-1B registrations eligible for the master’s cap and the bachelor’s cap. For those cases selected in the H-1B lottery, employers must adhere to the new H-1B filing period. USCIS will announce a new filing period for those H-1B registrations selected on the second lottery round.

Foreign nationals not selected in the H-1B cap lottery should consider eligibility for other visa categories.

Our Immigration Practice will continue to monitor USCIS developments and will keep our readers informed of any H-1B updates and this season’s H-1B cap selections. Our team is available to discuss alternate visa options available to prospective hires who were not selected in this year’s H-1B lottery.