The Immigration Observer

USCIS Announces Completion of Initial H-1B Lottery

H-1B Electronic Registration Process Update:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B numerical allocations, including the advanced degree exemption.

USCIS has completed the H-1B lottery and has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations of their eligibility to file an H-1B petition for each beneficiary selected in the registration.

Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each individual beneficiary registered:

• Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid.
• Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.  Depending on whether enough H-1B petitions are received, USCIS will conduct a second lottery this summer.

H-1B Cap Petitions:

Filing:

H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024 may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2023. Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, and petitions only for the beneficiary named in the selected registration notice.

The period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days, through June 30, 2023.

H-1B cap-subject petitions must be properly filed at the correct service center and within the filing period indicated on the registration selection notice. Online filing is not available for H-1B petitions.

Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions must still establish eligibility for petition approval based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements. Selection in the registration does not relieve the petitioner of submitting evidence or establishing H-1B eligibility, as registration only pertains to eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition.

Receipt Notices:

Due to increased filing volumes typically seen during H-1B cap filing periods, receipt notices for H-1B cap-subject petitions may be delayed. Petitioners who receive confirmation from their delivery service of the petition’s delivery should not submit a second petition. Petitioners who submit a second petition will be considered to have submitted duplicate petition, which will result in denial or revocation of both petitions. 

Approval:

USCIS will not use prepaid mailers to send out any communication or final notices for FY 2024 cap-subject H-1B petitions, as the process of printing and mailing the cap-subject H-1B petition approval notices is fully automated. Approval notices will be sent via first class mail.