H-1B Lottery Ends: You’ve Been Selected! Now What? (2024)
H-1B Lottery Ends: You’ve Been Selected! Now What?
On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that its initial registration selection process, commonly known as the H-1B lottery, is complete. This means the USCIS has selected enough initial registrations to meet its numerical limit for both the standard H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption, often referred to as the “master’s cap.” Each beneficiary who registeredshould now be labeledas having been selected, submitted (for those not chosen) or as being denied or invalidated for technical reasons, such as a duplicate registration or failed payment. Those selected will have at least 90 days from April 1, 2024 to file their H-1B petitions, making the filing cutoff June 30, 2024. After this period, the USCIS will likely make a second round of selections to meet their numerical quotas given that not every selected registrant files a petition. Last year, the announcement for the second selection was made on July 27, 2024, and we expect the USCIS to follow a similar timeline this year. However, a second selection is not guaranteed. Below are some important reminders for your H-1B registrations and selections moving forward.
Growing Pains
This year was the first time using the USCIS’s online, beneficiary-centric system, and some users say the registration process was frustrating. Between a glitch-riddled interface and a temporary outage that some users experienced, the USCIS opted toextend the registrationperiod until March 25, 2024, three days past the originally scheduled end. As an important note for company administrators and attorneys, there has been a reported problem of selected beneficiaries having their registrations labeled as “Submitted” instead of “Selected.” However, once you click into the registration on the system, it is apparent that the registrant was selected to have a petition filed on their behalf. It is always important to check registrations individually, but with the mislabeling of some registrations, it is especially important this cycle.
Now that the registration process and selection have been completed, selected beneficiaries may have H-1B petitions filed on their behalf starting April 1, 2024. There are a few important updates to the process to keep in mind when filing these petitions for Fiscal Year 2025. First, the USCIS has released a new form edition that must be used for all petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2024.
Related to the new forms, the USICS hasincreased feesassociated with H-1B petition filings, which began on April 1, 2024. For small employers (those having 25 or fewer full-time employees) and nonprofits, the filing fee will stay at $460 for the base filing fee, but for all other H-1B petitions, the base fee will increase from $460 to $780 (or $730 if filed online). In addition, there will be an added $600 Asylum Program Fee to each I-129 filed. This fee is reduced for small employers ($300) and for non-profit employers ($0). Premium processing fees were also increased effective February 26, 2024. For an H-1B petition, the filing fee for the Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, increased from $2,500 to $2,805.
Third, thefiling addressesfor the Form I-129 have changed. H1B petitions will now be filed at USCIS Lockbox locations, rather than at USCIS Service Centers. In order to avoid a rejected petition, practitioners and employers should be careful to double-check their filings to ensure they are sending their petitions to the correct addresses. Lastly, the USCIS has warned that there may be significant delays in issuing receipt notices for filed petitions. The USCIS has issued guidance on how to proceed if your receipt is significantly delayed, informing that filing a second petition will result in the denial of both petitions. The USCIS advises to wait 30 days after the confirmation of delivery before contacting theUSCIS Contact Centerfor assistance.
Options for Those Not Selected
It is not necessarily the end of the road if your registration was not selected. You should contact your Dinsmore immigration attorney to discuss various alternatives. If you are employed with a foreign company that has an affiliate, parent or subsidiary branch in the United States, you may be eligible for an L-1 Intracompany transfer visa. For those with extraordinary ability or achievement in the arts, sciences, education, business or athletics, you may consider pursuing an O-1 Extraordinary Ability Visa. F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) and J-1 intern or trainee visas are available for students and recent graduates.
There are also country-specific alternatives that may be helpful, such as H-1B1 visas (Chile and Singapore), TN visas (Canada and Mexico), E-3 visas (Australia), E-2 treaty investor visas (treaty countries) and work authorization via Temporary Protected Status (TPS) forprotected countries.
Certain H-1B visas are cap exempt, meaning they can be filed without having to be counted against the numerical limit set by the USCIS. Cap exempt employers include institutions of higher education, non-profit entities that are affiliated with institutions of higher education, non-profit research organizations and government research organizations. These employers are not subject to the same registration and lottery system and can file H-1B petitions year round.
Congratulations to those who have been selected to file an H-1B cap petition in FY 2025.
Once USCIS completes the lottery selection, recipients are notified through their USCIS accounts via a USCIS Form I-797C, Notice of Action. This notice includes essential information, such as the USCIS service center for filing the Form I-129
Form I-129
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker is a form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services used by employers or prospective employers to obtain (or amend the details of) a worker on a nonimmigrant visa status.
After you have been selected in the H-b lottery, the next step is to complete your petition and submit it to USCIS within 90 days. You will need to provide USCIS with evidence that you are qualified for the position, such as your educational qualifications and work experience.
H1B Visas are employer-specific. If your employment ends, your H1B status becomes invalid. A new H1B Visa is necessary for a change of employer. If your visa expires without renewal, you have a 10-day grace period to depart the US or apply for an extension.
After the registration process is complete, Employers or Attorneys representing the companies will file the H1B petitions with USCIS for those selected in the H1B Registration Lottery. Employers get 90 days, which starts from April 1st and lasts until June 30th, to file the H1B Petition for the selected applicant.
If you leave the U.S. after losing your H1B-sponsored job and plan to return with a new employer, re-entering the H1B lottery is typically not required, provided you haven't exhausted the six-year maximum on your H1B status.
The fiscal year for the H-1B visa program runs from October 1 to September 30. The USCIS begins accepting H-1B visa applications on April 1 of each year, and the visas are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the cap is reached.
Only after receiving a visa number will you be able to submit your green card application. That means significant additional delays. Most H-1B holders have to wait approximately two years after filing the family sponsorship form before they can continue the process by filing their green card application.
H-1B Continuing Employment with the Same Employer.
If you timely file a Form I-129 to extend their status, they are authorized to continue working for up to 240 days while USCIS processes the petition, or until USCIS makes a decision on your petition, whichever comes first.
You have a 10 day grace period with the end of the H-1B. Just having an I-526 on file does not allow you to remain here. Once the I-526 is approved, if you are in valid nonimmigrant status, you may file to adjust status to permanent residence while in the United States.
Question: What are your plans after your H1B visa expires? Answer: Discuss your intentions to either return to your home country or apply for an extension or change in status based on your employment at that time.
Official Stance on Second Round To this point, USCIS has not announced any intentions for a second round in the H1B lottery 2025, and the procedure for this fiscal year is expected to conclude with the final h1b lottery 2024 latest news by April 1, 2024.
Generally speaking, H-1B visa holders are allowed to stay in the U.S. for a maximum of six years. Once this period is up, they must either go back to their home country for a specific duration or explore other visa options if they wish to stay in the United States.
Implementation of a beneficiary-centric H-1B registration selection process whereby each beneficiary (employee) may only be selected once in each lottery, as opposed to past lotteries which allowed a beneficiary to be selected multiple times if multiple employers submitted registrations for the same beneficiary.
Typically, if a registrant is not selected in the lottery and their current work authorization is set to expire, they will be placed in USCIS' 60-day grace period.
If an H-1B employee resigns, the HR specialist must send an Immigration Specialist a copy of the resignation PNF showing the last day of employment so we can notify both U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of Labor and close the immigration file.
So, the good news is that switching jobs on an H-1B visa is legal and you can go for an H-1B job change once you and your new employer have completed the application process. However, you must be careful to file the correct paperwork at the correct time or you could find yourself out of status.
If you are selected in the DV Lottery and have the qualifications, you can apply for an immigrant visa. If approved, you would be able to come to the U.S., become a permanent resident, and get a Green Card. To apply for an immigrant visa, sign in to the Immigrant/Diversity Visa portal.
When USCIS receives more applications that they have visas, the agency conducts a random lottery. The submissions are opened and assigned a random number. A computer lottery is conducted. USCIS begins processing the applications that are selected.
Once the application gets selected, you will need to apply for your visa soon. It may take up to 14 months to schedule you for an interview and receive the visa. However, there are some further requirements you need to fulfill before you get a visa to become a U.S. citizen by Naturalization.
Your current U.S. employment status remains unaffected if you're not selected in the H-1B lottery. However, you won't be eligible to transition to an H-1B visa. You may need to explore alternative visa options or consider returning to your home country if you're unable to secure another visa or employment opportunity.
Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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