The USCIS announced its new rule for H-1B registrations, establishing a beneficiary-centric method of selection, decreased the number of duplicate registrations in the FY2025 lottery. You can read ZP’s article on the then-proposed rule here and learn about the H-1B CAP process here.
Last ZP wrote on this rule, it had only been proposed. What was the final rule?
The final rule announced how the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would be conducting the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B CAP lottery to ensure a fair selection for each registered foreign national. In the past, each unique registration would be eligible for selection in the lottery, but this final rule changed that process.
This year, each unique beneficiary who had a registration submitted on their behalf was entered into the selection process once, regardless of how many registrations were submitted on their behalf. The agency’s hope in promulgating this final rule was to reduce the potential for gaming the process and to help ensure that each beneficiary has the same chance of being selected.
What impact did the final rule have on the FY2025 H-1B CAP lottery?
The USCIS recently announced the numbers for the FY2025 H-1B CAP lottery, and it appears as though the final rule had the intended effect. The number of unique beneficiaries this year (approximately 442,000) was comparable to the FY2024 lottery (approximately 446,000). However, the number of unique registrations this year (approximately 470,000) was significantly less than the number in FY2024 (approximately 759,000).
Photo by Ussama Azam on Unsplash
Were other results from the FY2025 lottery announced too?
Yes! The USCIS also announced the selection numbers. There are 85,000 H-1B positions available each year, and this year, the USCIS selected 114,017 beneficiaries to fill those.
What happens if there are extra visas left after this selection?
If fewer than 85,000 H-1B petitions are approved from the initial selection, there will be a second H-1B CAP lottery. This is not uncommon – it even happened last year. If there is a second lottery, it will likely occur in late July or early August.
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Zulkie Partners attorneys understand that the H-1B CAP lottery can be a stressful time of year for employers and employees alike. If your or your employee’s registration wasn’t selected in this year’s lottery, we have prepared some other options, which you can explore here. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about your status or wish to speak with a ZP attorney about any of the alternatives linked above.