We are now in full swing for the fiscal year 2023 cap H-1B season.  The registration window for the fiscal year 2023 cap H-1B is now open and will remain open until noon EST on March 18, 2022.  During the registration period, prospective employer petitioners will provide USCIS with employer and prospective beneficiary employee information in order to have the chance to file an H-1B visa petition for the named beneficiary reflected in the registration. Prospective petitioners will be required to create and use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the H-1B visa petition selection process and will be required to pay a $10 non-refundable registration fee for each beneficiary registration.

After the registration period closes, and no later than March 31, 2022, USCIS will randomly select registrations from the ones it has received and will electronically notify employers and their attorneys if an employee’s registration has been selected. The employer will then have at least 90 days, beginning on April 1, 2022, to file an H-1B petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of the employee.  Registrations not selected in the initial lottery will be put on a waitlist and more registrations may be randomly selected during the fiscal year.

Every year there are a large number of H-1B applications that do not get selected in the lottery process. If you happen to be part of this unlucky group, all is not lost.  Although many foreign nationals rely on the H-1B status to temporarily live and work in the United States, there are alternative options to consider if not selected in the H-1B lottery.  Depending on the specific circumstances, cap H-1B registrants may still have options to continue living and working in the United States.  Now is the time to consider the unique facts and circumstances of each individual’s case to assess viable options for those registrants not selected in the H-1B lottery.

Best of luck in the lottery!!