USCIS is conducting a second lottery for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap, and has started to  notify employers that additional registrations have been selected.  Employers with selected registrations from the second lottery are expected to have from August 17, 2020 to November 16, 2020 to file an H-1B petition for the beneficiary of a selected registration.

USCIS previously concluded its initial H-1B cap lottery on March 20, 2020, and selected employers had a 90-day window during which to file H-1B cap petitions for selected beneficiaries.  The second lottery is being conducted because the number of H-1B petitions ultimately  submitted during the initial H-1B filing period (April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020) were not sufficient to meet the annual H-1B cap.   H-1B cap registrations that were not selected in the initial lottery remained in a reserve and the second lottery is being conducted from this reserve. USCIS has not yet announced how many additional registrations will be selected from the reserve.

What Should Employers Expect Next?

• Employers or their designated counsel  should check their registration accounts for new selection notices.
• Selected registrations will have a notice indicating “August 2020 Selection of Reserve Registration.”
• The notice will specify the filing period  during which the employer must submit the H-1B cap petition for the selected registration.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting that notices will indicate a filing period of August 17, 2020 to November 16, 2020.
• The H-1B cap petition for the selected registration must be submitted to USCIS  within the filing period specified on the notice.
• The notice must be included with the H-1B petition submitted to USCIS during the specified filing period.
• The H-1B cap petition may only be submitted for the beneficiary named in the selected registration; employers may not substitute another beneficiary.