USCIS has published a final rule in the Federal Register that will improve the odds of winning the H-1B Visa Lottery in 2024 and beyond! Below is what we know about this year’s H-1B Cap Registration process and the changes that are being made.
The registration period for this year’s H-1B cap lottery will open at 10 am MT on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, and run through 10 am MT on Friday, March 22, 2024. Once the registration period ends, USCIS will run the “lottery” and notify the “winners” who can then proceed with filing the H-1B petition within the 90-day filing period (April 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024). The H-1B petition will be approved for a start date no earlier than October 1, 2024. It is unclear yet whether there will be multiple rounds of “selections” and H-1B filing periods throughout 2024 like there were last year.
Here is a summary of the most significant changes to the H-1B Cap Registration Process:
- The H-1B Cap Registration fee will remain $10.00 per registration for this year. However, starting next year, the H-1B Cap Registration fee will increase to $215.00 per registration.
- Instead of selecting the H-1B Cap Lottery winners by registration, USCIS will select registrations by unique beneficiary. Each unique beneficiary who has a registration submitted on their behalf will be entered into the selection process once, regardless of how many registrations are submitted on their behalf. If a beneficiary is selected (i.e. wins the H-1B lottery) each registrant who submitted a registration on that beneficiary’s behalf will be notified of the beneficiary’s selection and will be eligible to file an H-1B petition on that beneficiary’s behalf during the H-1B filing period.
- Each beneficiary must submit a valid passport or travel document ID information to register for the H-1B Cap Lottery. Each beneficiary can only register one valid passport or travel document and it must be the passport/travel document that the beneficiary intends to use to apply for H-1B status at the U.S. Consular Office abroad. The beneficiary will be required to provide a copy of the passport used for H-1B Cap Registration with the H-1B petition (if selected). If a beneficiary registers more than one passport/travel document and/or the registered passport/travel document information does not match what is submitted with the H-1B petition, then USCIS may deny or revoke the H-1B petition.
- The H-1B start date, can now be on or after October 1, 2024.
- For those who are selected (win the H-1B lottery), and can file an H-1B petition this year, USCIS has increased the filing fees for H-1B petitions and premium processing. USCIS filing fees will be determined based on whether the petitioner has 25 or more full-time employees, whether the petitioner is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity, and the type of visa classification sought (i.e. H-1B).
Stay tuned for more information about how the H-1B Cap Lottery goes this year!