United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced all available visas in the Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B lottery program have been utilized. Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are available for positions requiring at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree. An additional 20,000 visas are available to foreign nationals who have earned at least a U.S. Master’s degree and are sponsored for an H-1B eligible position. Registrants were selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions. The H-1B program is regularly used by U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign national workers in specialty fields such as engineering, mathematics, health care, education, and information technology.
Those not selected in this year’s lottery will not have to wait long for another opportunity, however. USCIS typically announces the H-1B lottery registration period in the first quarter of the calendar year, and registration has historically taken place in the first few weeks of March.
Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for the Fiscal Year 2025 should start planning now to implement a successful H-1B strategy. The planning process should include working with experienced immigration counsel to consider and evaluate a host of initial issues, including:
- Potential immigration status and work authorization issues prior to H-1B approval;
- Wage considerations based on existing DOL Prevailing Wage guidance and comparable employees’ salaries;
- Evaluating job duties and requirements to allow for the best chance of H-1B success;
- The effect of H-1B approval on foreign travel and dependent family members;
- Petition alignment with future Permanent Residency sponsorship opportunities.
Employers should also stay abreast of regulatory changes because USCIS is expected to make a variety of changes to the H-1B lottery registration process in the coming months. Burr’s immigration team continues to follow the regulatory changes and will provide updates as they are available.
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