H-1B REGISTRATION NOT SELECTED IN LOTTERY NOW WHAT?

The H-1B visa lottery for FY-2024 has happened. If you were not selected is all hope gone? Well the answer to that question is….no not yet, there is still hope!

Only petitioners with selected registrations from the H-1B visa lottery may begin to file their H-1B petitions with USCIS starting April 1, 2023. Selected registrants must file their petition at the correct service center within the 90 day filing period listed on their registration selection notice.

However, there is still hope for petitioners whose registrations were not initially selected. From the selected registrations, there may be some that were picked however are no longer eligible to apply, some may have chosen not to file an H-1B application, and there are some that will be denied by USCIS. All these reasons leave room for more H-1B registrations to be selected.

USCIS has stated, “In the event that USCIS determines that it needs to increase the number of registrations projected to meet the H-1B regular cap or the advanced degree exemption allocation, USCIS will select from registrations held in reserve to meet the H-1B regular cap or advanced degree exemption allocation.”

If your registration was not chosen, but you currently have a “submitted” status on your online account, then you should regularly check to see if your status changes within the next few months. There will likely be an announcement by USCIS of a new lottery draw, but it is good to keep an eye on your account in the meantime.

Types of Account Statuses:

• Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
• Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid.
• Not Selected: If the H-1B cap has been met for this fiscal year and there are no further lottery draws made, the status will appear as not selected.

Our office will continue to provide updates on this matter. Please visit the rest of our blogs HERE where we discuss different immigration topics.