USCIS received approximately 172,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions during the filing period that began April 1 and conducted its computer-generated random selection process on April 10.
On April 10, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received approximately 172,500 H-1B cap-subject petitions during the filing period that began on April 1. This includes petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption category.
On April 10, the agency conducted a computer-generated random selection process, commonly referred to as the “lottery,” to select enough petitions to meet the 65,000 cap in the general category and the 20,000 cap in the advanced degree exemption category. The lottery for the advanced degree exemption was conducted first; all advanced degree petitions not selected then became part of the general lottery.
USCIS will reject and return all H-1B petitions not selected in the lottery, along with filing fees, unless a petition is a duplicate filing. As of April 10, USCIS had not provided guidance with respect to the timing for returning the rejected petitions.
View the USCIS announcement here.
USCIS previously announced that it will begin premium processing for H-1B cap cases no later than April 28. For more information on premium processing for Fiscal Year 2015 cap-subject petitions, see the related USCIS alert here.
