On March 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has selected sufficient H-1B Visa Petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular cap (bachelor’s degree cap) and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree (master’s cap) for the 2024 Fiscal Year H-1B visa allocations. USCIS has sent selection and non-selection notifications to petitioners who submitted initial registrations for the Fiscal Year 2024.

Key highlights from USCIS’ announcement include:

• USCIS will accept H-1B visa petitions for selected H-1B registrations (and only for the beneficiary named in the selected H-1B registration) beginning April 1, 2023 and ending on June 30, 2023.
• H-1B cap-subject petitions for selected H-1B visa registrations must be properly filed at the correct service center and within the filing period indicated on the registration selection notice.
• USCIS will accept paper-based H-1B visa petitions, including evidentiary documentation of eligibility.
• Properly filed H-1B registrations that were not selected in the H-1B cap lottery will show “Submitted” in their accounts. This means that these registrations are not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this year’s registration.
• USCIS will continue to accept and process H-1B visa petitions not subject to the cap, including:
  • Petitions for extension of H-1B status to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S;
  • Petitions for change of H-1B employer to allow H-1B workers to change employers;
  • Petitions for H-1B concurrent employment to allow H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions; and
  • Petitions for change in terms of current H-1B employment.

Unlike prior H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has not announced an intention to conduct a second H-1B lottery this year.

We will continue to monitor developments related to the H-1B visa program and provide additional information as soon as it is provided by USCIS.

Those applicants not selected in this year’s H-1B registration lottery may have other nonimmigrant visa options available to them. Please contact our Immigration Practice if you would like to discuss alternate visa options for H-1B registrations not selected in this year’s H-1B registration lottery.

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