USCIS Announces that the H-1B Cap for FY2024 Has Been Reached

USCIS has confirmed that they have received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated H-1B Cap (including the U.S. advanced degree exemption or “Master’s” cap) for Fiscal Year 2024.

USCIS will continue to accept and process H-1B cap-exempt petitions, including:

  • Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have previously been counted against the cap and who retain their cap number;

  • Petitions to extend H-1B status;

  • Petitions to change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;

  • Petitions to allow current H-1B workers to change employers;

  • Petitions to allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions.

USCIS will send non-selection notices to cap-subject registrants through their online accounts over the next few days.

Please note that the above is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For specific questions about how the FY2024 H-1B Cap may apply to your circumstances, please contact your team at D&S.


USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Fiscal Year 2022 Cap Season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap will open at 12 (noon) Eastern on March 9, 2021 and run through 12 (noon) Eastern on March 25, 2021.

Under this registration process, employers or their authorized representatives will be required to complete a registration for each requested worker during the registration window, providing initial information about their company and each requested worker. Employers must also pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration. The H-1B random selection process will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

USCIS indicates the agency intends to notify account holders of the results of the selection process by March 31, 2021.

D&S will post additional guidance as it becomes available.

USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Fiscal Year 2021 Cap Season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will be implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register with USCIS. USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020.

Under this new process, employers or their authorized representatives will be required to complete a registration for each requested worker during the registration window, providing initial information about their company and each requested worker. Employers must also pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration. The H-1B random selection process will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

USCIS indicates it will post step-by-step instructions on the registration process along with key dates and timelines as the initial registration period nears.

D&S will post additional guidance as it becomes available.

USCIS Announces that Data Entry for all FY2019 H-1B Cap Cases is Complete

USCIS has confirmed that data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in the computer-generated random selection process ("the lottery") has been completed. The Agency will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the lottery. 

USCIS has indicated that, due to the high volume of H-1B filings, the Agency cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions but that they will issue an announcement once all the unselected petitions have been returned.