USCIS Completes Second H-1B Lottery for FY 2025

USCIS announced today that it completed the second H-1B cap lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. All employers with selected registrations have been notified. Employers with selected registrations from the second lottery may file an H-1B petition for the beneficiary of a selected registration during the 90-day period from August 8, 2024 to November 7, 2024.

USCIS did not conduct a second selection for the advanced degree exemption (the master’s cap).

What’s Next

• Employers with selected registrations will see updates in their myUSCIS accounts, including a selection notice and details of when and where to file the H-1B cap petition.
• Only employers with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2025 and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice; no substitution of beneficiaries is permitted.
• An H-1B cap-subject petition for a selected registration must be properly filed within the filing period specified on the relevant registration selection notice.
• Registration selection only indicates that employers are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions; it does not signify that the petition will be approved.
• Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions must submit evidence and establish eligibility for approval based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

Important Filing Reminders

• As of April 1, 2024, USCIS adjusted feesfor most immigration applications and petitions.
• The new 04/01/24 edition of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker must be used.
• A final premium processing fee rulethat increased the filing fee for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service took effect February 26, 2024.

Additional Information

USCIS has reported that during the registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap, it saw a significant decrease from FY 2024 in the total number of registrations submitted and, more importantly, in the number of eligible registrations submitted, returning the submission rates to FY 2023 levels. This drop was attributed to USCIS’s implementation of a new selection process this year to combat abuse of the H-1B registration process which took place in FY 2024.

For more information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com