Details regarding this year’s H-1B lottery, changes to visa processing at U.S. Consulates, and information about documentation requirements for foreign nationals are included in this month’s edition of Immigration Insider.
Fiscal 2026 H-1B Lottery Filings
USCIS has announced that the H-1B registration period for the FY 2026 lottery will be open from March 7, 2025 (noon EST) to March 24, 2025 (noon EST.) If you have employees who need to be entered in this year’s H-1B lottery, please contact our office as soon as possible.
Under this H-1B lottery process, an employer must submit the electronic pre-registration and pay a $215 fee in order to sponsor an employee for H-1B status. The electronic pre-registration requires submission of basic information, such as the name, address, and FEIN of the employer and the beneficiary’s biographic details and education. Should USCIS receive more electronic pre-registrations than there are H-1Bs available, a lottery is conducted. If selected in the lottery, employers are given a window of time during which the complete H-1B filing must be submitted. If USCIS does not receive sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the cap, a second lottery is conducted, with a second filing window. This is repeated until USCIS has the required number of petitions.
Consulate Interview Waiver Updates
The U.S. Department of State has updated it’s guidance concerning which applicants may be eligible for waiver of their consular non-immigrant visa interviews. Those eligible include applicants for diplomatic visas and those who have held a visa in the same category that expired less than 12 months prior to the new application. (Note: This time period was previously 48 months.)
Applicants seeking an interview waiver must apply in the country of their residence. In addition, they must never have been refused a visa or have any other grounds of inadmissibility.
These changes are expected to result in increased wait times for visa appointments. Applicants should make arrangements for travel and visa processing accordingly.
Documentation Requirements for Foreign Nationals Residing in the United States
As a reminder, foreign nationals in the United States must carry documentation evidencing their immigration status at all times. Section 245(e) of the Immigration and National Act requires that every individual over the age of eighteen (18) carry at all times “any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued” to him or her. Failure to “comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both.”
A copy of a Form I-94 printout or a valid, unexpired admission/parole stamp in a foreign passport satisfies the requirements above. Form I-94 can be obtained via: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/(goes to new website). Carrying a copy of this record is preferred over carrying a passport with the stamp given the risk of this important document being lost or stolen.
