In a recent announcement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed plans to conduct a second lottery selection process for H-1B applications for the fiscal year 2025.
This decision is taken to fulfil the regular cap numerical allocation for the year and offers a renewed opportunity for applicants who were not selected in the initial lottery held in March 2024, the Economic Times reported.
Moreover, the agency clarified that there will not be a second selection for the advanced degree exemption, commonly referred to as the master’s cap. According to USCIS, the initial selection generated a sufficient number of registrations and petitions to meet the FY 2025 master’s cap allocation.
The upcoming second selection will include all previously submitted registrations, encompassing those eligible for both the regular cap and the master’s cap. “In March, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption,” the agency stated. It further noted that only those petitioners whose registrations were selected in the initial pool are permitted to file H-1B cap-subject petitions during the designated filing period, which spanned from April 1 to June 30, 2024.
Despite the initial lottery results, USCIS has identified the necessity for further selections to meet the regular cap for FY 2025. The agency will carry out this second random selection from the existing pool of electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries.
Prospective petitioners who are selected in this round will be informed of their eligibility to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary listed in their registration. USCIS is expected to announce the conclusion of this selection process alongside notifications to the chosen petitioners in the near future.
Once selected, registrants will receive updates via their USCIS online accounts, which will include a selection notice outlining the next steps for the filing process.