United States – FY 2024 H-1B Cap Lottery Developments; Petition Filing from April 1

Jump to: Background | FY 2024 H-1B Cap Petition Filing Period | Pre-paid Mailer Suspension and Receipt Notice Delays

On March 27, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency has completed the initial electronic registration selection process for the H-1B cap lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2024.¹  Employers with valid, selected registrations may begin filing H-1B cap-subject petitions on behalf of beneficiaries with USCIS starting on April 1, 2023.² The filing period will be open for at least 90 days.

Background

Each year, 85,000 new H-1B visas are issued – referred to as “the H-1B cap.”  Within the H-1B cap, 20,000 H-1B visas are reserved for individuals holding a Master’s degree or higher from a qualifying U.S. university at the time of filing.  Employers register for the H-1B lottery by completing a short online form with information about the company and the prospective H-1B candidate. 

The H-1B lottery is conducted once the electronic registrations are submitted during the initial registration period and only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file complete H-1B-cap-subject petitions with the USCIS.

This year, the initial registration period for the H-1B cap opened on March 1, 2023 and ended on March 20, 2023 (due to errors with the registration system). (For prior coverage, see GMS Flash Alert 2023-027, February 1, 2023.)

The USCIS then completed its selection process on March 27, 2023.  Registrants’ online accounts should reflect one of the following updates for each registration:

• Submitted: The registration was submitted, but not selected in the selection process USCIS completed on March 27, 2023. The registration remains eligible for subsequent selections for the fiscal year.
• Selected: Selected in the H-1B cap lottery and, so, an H-1B cap petition can be filed during the filing period.
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary, and as such, the registration was denied.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: Registration submitted but the payment method failed.

FY 2024 H-1B Cap Petition Filing Period

USCIS has announced that the filing period for selected H-1B cap registrations will run from April 1, 2023, for a minimum of 90 days.³  Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B-cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice.

Pre-paid Mailer Suspension and Receipt Notice Delays

The USCIS also announced on March 27, 2023, that it will not use pre-paid mailers to send out any communication or final notices for FY 2024 cap-subject H-1B petitions.

The agency further addressed the delays in petitioners’ and/or their legal representatives’ receipt of Form I-797, Notice of Action, specifically noting that due to increased filing volumes typically seen during H-1B cap filing periods, there are instances where a petition is timely and properly filed, but issuance of the Form I-797 is delayed.  The agency advised that petitioners should not submit a second petition if they have delivery service confirmation of their properly-filed H-1B cap application.  The USCIS will consider the submission of a second petition as if the petitioner were submitting a duplicate petition, which will result in a denial or revocation of both submitted applications.  Instead, the USCIS notes that if more than 30 days have passed since the confirmation of delivery without receipt of Form I-797, petitioners may contact the USCIS contact center.

For more information on the H-1B cap, USCIS has dedicated a H-1B Cap Season webpage.⁴

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