The 2025 H-1B cap season is fast approaching, making it essential to prepare for this highly competitive process. The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign professionals in specialty occupations, and demand for these visas continues to far exceed the annual cap.
- The annual cap includes 65,000 regular visas plus an additional 20,000 visas under the master’s cap for individuals with a U.S. master's degree or higher.
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) utilizes an online registration system for the selection process. Our team is ready to assist you in registering your employees and candidates.
- The registration period typically opens in early March and lasts approximately two weeks. USCIS will announce exact dates for the 2025 season soon.
To position your organization for success in the H-1B lottery process, we recommend the following:
- Review Workforce Needs: Identify potential H-1B candidates, including future hires and current employees needing a change of status, such as foreign graduates of U.S. universities or employees currently in other more restrictive nonimmigrant visa status (e.g. TN visas). Review I-9 forms to identify employees with expiring work authorization who may need H-1B sponsorship. You should consider employees in OPT or STEM-OPT, even if they have ample time remaining, to maximize their chance of eventual selection in the lottery.
- Gather Necessary Documents: Begin collecting evidence of the beneficiary's educational qualifications, work experience and details about the job being offered.
Early preparation is critical to comply with USCIS deadlines and to minimize the risk of last-minute challenges. While the H-1B cap selection process is random, incomplete or inaccurate registrations will be rejected without consideration, which makes careful planning and execution critical.
Our team is here to assist you with every step of the H-1B process, including:
- Assessing the eligibility of your employees/candidates and the proffered position.
- Preparing and submitting registrations through the USCIS online portal.
- Preparing and submitting petitions for selected registrants.
- Advising employees who are not selected on alternative options.
