The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it will conduct a second round of lottery selection to meet the fiscal year 2025 H-1B visa cap allocation. This follows an initial random selection held in March, during which electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries were processed.
First Lottery Selection in March
In March, USCIS conducted the initial random selection for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap, which included beneficiaries eligible under both the regular cap and the advanced degree exemption. The congressionally mandated annual cap for H-1B visas, also known as the ‘regular cap,’ is set at 65,000 visas.
Second Round of Selections
This new round of selections will encompass previously submitted registrations indicating eligibility for both the master’s cap and the regular cap. Petitioners with selected registrations will find a notice in their USCIS online accounts detailing when and where to file their petitions.
Eligibility and Filing Period
Only petitioners whose registrations are selected for FY 2025 can file H-1B cap-subject petitions during the designated filing period as outlined in their registration selection notice. The initial filing period for selected registrants was from April 1 through June 30, 2024.
Notification Process
Soon, USCIS will commence the second round of selections for unique beneficiaries from previously submitted electronic registrations through another random selection process. Selected petitioners will receive notifications that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for their named beneficiary. USCIS will announce when this second round is complete.
Important Considerations
H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, can only be filed based on a valid and selected registration for the named beneficiary. Importantly, you cannot file an H-1B petition more than six months before the beneficiary’s requested employment start date.
Advanced Degree Exemption
USCIS has confirmed that there will not be a second round of selections specifically for the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) since enough master’s cap registrations were already selected to meet the FY 2025 numerical allocation.
