On March 1st the USCIS will open their registration portal for the H1-B lottery. The H1-B is a competitive non-immigrant visa that is sought after for many foreign professionals who wish to come to the United States to work in technology, engineering, and other specialized fields. Every year, the USCIS opens their registration for approximately three weeks, and receives thousands of registrants (employers) looking to sponsor foreign talent.

The registration period will last from March 1st to March 18th. During that time, registrants will be issued a confirmation number when they use the online USCIS system. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning February 21st, however they can’t actually register a beneficiary in the system until March 1st. In addition, employers should note that registering a beneficiary costs $10, and they will be able to register more than one beneficiary per company.

How it Works

It is very common during the H1-B lottery period for the demand per employers to outweigh the supply of H1-B visas the USCIS has allocated for that fiscal year. Right now, Congress has designated 65,000 H1-B visas for prospective applicants looking to work in the United States. In addition, there are 20,000 extra visas, if the cap is surpassed for graduate (Masters) degree holders who went to a U.S. based university. In other words, the USCIS will continue to accept registrants that have Masters degrees until the 20,000 limit is reached.[1]

After the USCIS has reached their cap (including Masters degree registrants), the agency plans on notifying selected registrants by March 31st. Once a petitioner is notified, they can usually file their non-immigrant petition for a prospective applicant the next day.

Applicants interested in an H1-B visa should note that the process of registering a beneficiary in the USCIS online system does not guaranteed that the individual will be picked for a visa. The way the system works, applicants first have to be chosen via the “lottery system”, and then employers can go ahead and file a non-immigrant petition with the USCIS. Once the petition has been approved, this is when the USCIS will transfer the beneficiaries information over to the NVC, and the applicant will proceed with being scheduled for a visa interview abroad.

One other important consideration is that employers will have their petitions denied if the intended start date for the beneficiary is more than 6 months from the date of filing.