USCIS is set to conduct an H1B visa lottery for FY 2025

Technical glitch delays H1B visa application deadline. (Representational image)

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is gearing up to conduct a lottery to select beneficiaries for H1B visas, including the master’s cap for advanced degree holders. This development follows the closure of the initial H1B sign-up period for the fiscal year 2025 on March 25.

On Thursday, USCIS announced they are set to hold a lottery for FY 25. “Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B cap petitioners: random selections have been made and notifications are being sent to myUSCIS accounts beginning yesterday and continuing over the next few days prior to April 1.”

Why USCIS opted the lottery?

A technical glitch on the USCIS website caused a three-day delay in the deadline for visa applications for the financial year 2025, shifting it from March 22nd to March 25th, 2024. The USCIS has assured potential petitioners that they will be contacted to confirm their eligibility to submit a petition subject to the H1B cap.

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The demand for H-1B visas consistently exceeds the annual cap of 85,000, prompting the USCIS to employ a lottery system to select recipients. Notably, Indian tech professionals have dominated the H1B cap-subject visas in recent years, accounting for over 70% of the 85,000 visas available, including the 20,000 master’s quota for holders of advanced US degrees.

In 2022, Indians secured a staggering 77% of the 320,000 H1B visas awarded. However, this year, the USCIS anticipates approximately 350,000 applications—a decrease from last year due to intensified efforts to combat fraud. Interestingly, out of the 759,000 registrations submitted last year, more than 400,000 were duplicates.

USCIS also announced significant fee increases for beneficiaries filing H1B petitions

• H1B filing fees will rise by 70%.
• L-1 petition fees will increase by 201%.
• O-1 petition fees will see a 129% hike.

Starting April 1, the USCIS will shift the H-1B Form I-129 filing location to a lockbox. Consequently, applications for H-1B and H-1B1 (HSC) must no longer be submitted at USCIS service centres using Form I-129. Instead, all paper-based petitions—whether cap, non-cap, or cap-exempt—must be sent to USCIS lockbox facilities.

Importantly, there will be no grace period for H-1B or H-1B1 (HSC) petitions received at a USCIS service centre on or after April 1, 2024. Petitioners must ensure that their filings are directed to the correct location to avoid rejection.

To streamline processes, USCIS also introduced “MyUSCIS,” an online organizational account that allows collaboration between multiple individuals and their legal counsel for H-1B registrations, petitions, and related Form I-907 submissions.

USCIS notified petitioners that fees for most immigration applications and petitions will change as of April 1, 2024.

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