On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced to stakeholders via email that it has received a sufficient number of electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries to reach the statutory 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) for the fiscal year (FY) 2025. This announcement means that USCIS has randomly selected enough properly submitted registrations for unique beneficiaries projected to reach the FY 2025 H-1B cap, including the master’s cap. USCIS has notified petitioners with selected beneficiaries via their MyUSCIS online accounts. USCIS may run a second round of random selections in the late summer if the FY 2025 H-1B cap is not reached after this first round of selections.
Receiving a selection notice does not guarantee the approval of H-1B status. The petitioning employer must still establish the beneficiary’s eligibility for the visa at the time the petition is filed with the USCIS.
For each selected H-1B registration, the petitioner has at least 90 days to file an H-1B petition with supporting documents and corresponding filing fees. H-1B cap-subject petitions must include evidence of the same valid passport or travel document used to identify the unique beneficiary in the registration. Effective April 1, 2024, all H-1B petitions must be filed with the new edition of Form I-129, the newly increased filing fees, and at a USCIS Lockbox location or online at my.uscis.gov. Improperly filed petitions will be rejected.
Key Takeaways
- USCIS has completed its random selection of H-1B electronic registrations. Petitioners must file FY 2025 H-1B cap-subject petitions within the filing period listed on the selection notice.
- H-1B cap-subject petitions must include evidence of the same passport or travel document used in the registration.
- H-1B petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2024, must be filed with the 04/01/24 edition of Form I-129 and the increased filing fees. For additional information regarding the applicable filing fees, please refer to our bulletin on the topic here.
- H-1B petitions must now be filed at a USCIS Lockbox or online at my.uscis.gov.
- Approved petitions will allow for H-1B visa work authorization effective October 1, 2024 (or later).
For each registration that has not been selected, please contact your Dentons immigration lawyer to explore alternative employment visa options such as F-1 Optional Practical Training/Curricular Practical Training, H-1B1 visas for citizens of Chile and Singapore, TN visas for citizens of Mexico and Canada, E-3 visas for citizens of Australia, and O-1 visas for individuals with Extraordinary Ability or Achievement.
Please contact your Dentons immigration lawyer if you have any questions.
