On August 1, 2024 UCSIC conducted a second draw from the H-1B lottery pool.

Federal law authorizes the issuance of 85,000 new H-1 visas per year. 20,000 of these visas are reserved for employers who wish to employ a foreign national who hold a post graduate degree from a United States university. The remaining 65,000 visas are available to employers offering employment to a foreign national in a field that requires at least a baccalaureate degree in a particular field.

The H-1B visa is very popular. This year, USCIS received 479,953 registrations for the 85,000 new H-1 visas. Due to the high demand, USCIS distributes these visas by lottery. USCIS conducted its initial draw of 126,603 individual H-1B lottery entries in March. Selected employers were given until June 30, 2024 to file a petition. Even though USCIS selected 126,603 individuals, they failed to receive 65,000 petitions. USCIS reports that it received 20,000 petitions claiming the master’s degree quota.

USCIS selected additional H-1 lottery winners from the registrations that were filed in March. So long as the registration was properly filed in March, an employer need not do anything to participate in the second draw from the H-1 visa registration pool. If a registration is selected in the second lottery, the status of the H-1B registration status changes to selected and a selection notice is available in the employer’s uscis.gov account. This notice contains the deadline and specific instructions on how to file an H-1 petition on behalf of the selected individual. An employer who no longer wishes to petition for a selected individual need not do anything.

If employers do not file sufficient petitions for USCIS to issue all 65,000 H-1 visas, USCIS will announce and conduct a third lottery draw.

Employers should monitor their uscis.gov account for updated selection information.