The annual H-1B cap lottery registration process will begin on March 7, 2025, and run through March 24, 2025. At the close of the registration period, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will select registrations and award H-1B slots for professional workers in specialty occupations.
There is a total of 85,000 visas available each year, including 20,000 slots reserved for candidates who earned a master's degree or higher from a U.S. educational institution. To allocate these limited slots, USCIS conducts an annual lottery to randomly select which employees may be sponsored for H-1B status.
On Jan. 30, 2024, USCIS introduced changes to the registration process to combat fraud and misuse of the program. USCIS announced that it will follow the procedure again this year and use passport numbers or travel document numbers to select lottery registrations. This ensures that each beneficiary will be entered into the lottery only once, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf. If a beneficiary is selected, all employers who filed a registration will be notified and eligible to file an H-1B petition on behalf of the beneficiary.
In preparation for this year's H-1B cap lottery, U.S. employers should review their active employee rosters and prospective hires to identify employees who may need or would benefit from H-1B visa sponsorship.
A list of potential H-1B candidates includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- recent college and university graduates present in the U.S. with F-1 student status who are working pursuant to optional practical training (OPT or STEM OPT)
- student workers in school with F-1 status who may be working pursuant to curricular practical training (CPT)
- employees or candidates currently with H-4 or L-2 status who are working pursuant to their spouse's H-1B or L-1 immigration status
- employees with TN, E or H-1B1 status for whom an employer is considering pursuing permanent residence
- candidates abroad or in the U.S. who are subject to the annual H-1B cap
- employees in another nonimmigrant status, such as L-1B, who are approaching the maximum limit of their status and would benefit from a change of status to H-1B
- candidates who work for a different employer in another nonimmigrant status and may require an H-1B visa to change jobs
- candidates who work for a nonprofit or exempt entity and have never been counted against the H-1B cap
Additional information regarding the H-1B cap lottery process for 2025 will be forthcoming.
