The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the dates for submitting registrations for the yearly H-1B cap lottery. The registration period will be open from 12pm ET March 6, 2024 to 12pm ET March 22, 2024, with selections expected to be confirmed by March 31. All employers who wish to file an H-1B petition under the cap – that is on behalf of an individual who has not previously been counted against the annual limit on new H-1B visas – must register in the system.
Online H-1B Registration
Under the registration system, employers must complete an electronic registration between March 6 and March 22, 2024 and pay the associated $10 fee for each individual beneficiary that they will sponsor for an H-1B visa during the annual filing period. Employers that have used the registration system in prior H-1B cap lotteries may continue to use their existing accounts for this year's cap registration. Employers will be able to create new accounts starting February 28, 2024.
The registration will include basic information about the employer, such as its name, tax identification number, primary office location, authorized signatory, and an attestation that the company intends to file an H-1B petition, if selected, for the individual beneficiary, as well as the name of the individual that the employer will sponsor for an H-1B visa, and that individual's date of birth, country of birth and citizenship, passport number, and whether the individual has a Master's degree or higher-level degree from a U.S. institution.
Changes to the Online H-1B Registration System
Starting February 28, 2024, USCIS will launch "organizational accounts" that will allow employers and their legal representatives to collaborate on preparation and submission of H-1B registrations. Employers and their legal representatives must use an organizational account (formerly known as a "registrant" account) in order to submit H-1B registrations during the March registration period. Employers will be able to create a new organizational account or "upgrade" an existing registrant account to an organizational account.
Another key change of the FY2025 H-1B registration process is selection based on unique beneficiary rather than by registration. Pursuant to a final rule published by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, this change and other integrity measures are aimed at reducing the potential for fraud and ensuring all registered beneficiaries have an equal chance of being selected regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf.
To this end, the H-1B registration process will require a beneficiary's valid passport or valid travel document information. Since each beneficiary can only be registered under one passport or travel document, random selections will be made by unique beneficiary rather than by registration, so that if one beneficiary has multiple registrations, they will still have the same odds of selection as a beneficiary with one registration.
This system does not change the annual numerical limit on H-1B visas. As in prior years, there will be 65,000 visas available under the "regular cap," which includes those with U.S. or foreign-earned Bachelor's degrees or advanced degrees earned outside the U.S., and an additional 20,000 visas available for those with advanced degrees earned from a U.S. institution. At the end of the registration period on March 22, 2024, if USCIS has received more registrations than there are visas available, the agency will conduct a lottery and notify employers if their registration was selected in the lottery. Notifications of lottery selections are expected by the end of the month.
Selection in the lottery allows the employer to file an H-1B petition but does not guarantee approval for an H-1B visa. Employers will have a 90-day window, expected to open April 1, 2024, in which to file a petition. If USCIS has not received enough petitions by the end of this filing window to meet the quota, USCIS may run additional lotteries and designate new filing periods as appropriate.
Practical Implications of the System
An employer must collect basic information and file a registration by noon ET on March 22, 2024 to participate in the coming fiscal year's annual H-1B cap. Thus, employers should begin reviewing their population of current and potential employees to identify those for whom they would like to file an H-1B petition. This often includes employees working pursuant to student status such as F-1 OPT or STEM, as well as other employees and candidates. Employers are able to register multiple individuals at once but may only submit one registration per intended beneficiary.
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