Between April 2-6, USCIS received 190,098 cap-subject H-1B petitions from U.S. employers in need of the talents of professionals from abroad. This was more than enough petitions to meet the H-1B cap for FY 2019.

On April 12, in keeping with past protocols USCIS conducted a computer-generated random selection process (aka, the H-1B lottery). First, 20,000 petitions were randomly selected toward the U.S. advanced-degree cap. Unselected U.S. advanced-degree petitions were then included in the random selection for the remaining 65,000 spots.

Petitions that were not selected will be returned with unused filing fees unless USCIS found that an employer improperly filed multiple petitions on behalf of the same employee.

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