USCIS Completes Initial FY 2024 H-1B Cap Selection Process

On March 27, 2023, USCIS announced that it received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap. A random selection (lottery) was conducted from the registrations properly submitted from March 1, 2023 through March 20, 2023. H-1B petitions may be filed for selected registrations starting April 1, 2023.

WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN EXPECT

USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the selected registration during the 90-day period designated on the selection notice. Registrants’ online accounts will now be updated to show one of the following statuses for each beneficiary registered:

• Submitted: A registration status may continue to show “Submitted” after the initial selection process. These registrations will remain in consideration for selection until the end of the fiscal year, at which point all registration statuses will either be Selected, Not Selected, or Denied. If a sufficient number of petitions are not filed and approved for selected beneficiaries with the initial 90-day filing window, USCIS may conduct another lottery from the reserve of “submitted’ registrations until the FY 2024 cap is reached.  Notably, last year, the H-1B cap was reached after the first round of selections; USCIS did not make any additional selections.
• Selected: Indicates that the employer may file an FY 2024 H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary in the designated 90-day filing period.
• Denied:A duplicate registration was submitted by the same registrant for the same beneficiary; all registrations submitted for this beneficiary for FY 2024 are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration payment method was declined and not reconciled, invalidating the registration.

Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024 and only for the beneficiary in the applicable selected registration notice. Employers have a 90-day window during which to file the complete H-1B petition, commencing April 1, 2023. All petitions must be filed with the correct USCIS service center and within the filing period indicated on the selection notice.  Online filing is not available for H-1B petitions.

Gibney will continue to monitor the FY 2024 H-1B cap process and provide updates, and will work with employers to file H-1B petitions for selected beneficiaries during the designated filing window. For additional information, please contact your Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.