H-1B Lottery Registration Opens March 1

February 22, 2022
Jacob L. Ratzan

H-1B season is here! There are 65,000 available each year with an additional 20,000 allotted to foreign nationals with U.S. earned master degrees. Last year, there were H-1B petitions filed, causing USCIS to conduct a lottery to determine which cases would be accepted for processing.

For the third year in a row, USCIS will be using an . Here’s some important information about the upcoming lottery:

  • Benefit to employers: Employers do not need to submit complete H-1B packets to be considered in the H-1B lottery, thereby substantially reducing legal fees that employers incur for cases that do not get selected in the lottery.
  • Fee: Employers are required to pay $10 for each registration. Payments can be made via Pay.gov using a bank account, credit card or debit card.
  • FY2023 Registration Period: March 1 to March 18.
  • Notification: USCIS intends to notify registrants if they have been selected in the lottery no later than March 31, 2021.
  • Filing Period: For cases selected in the lottery, employers will have 90 days to file their H-1B petitions form the date they are notified of their selection.
  • Information Required for Electronic Registration: The following information will be required:
    • Employer Information: legal name of petitioning company or organization; DBAs; FEIN; Primary U.S. office address; Authorized signatory legal name, job title and contact information (daytime phone number and e-mail address)
    • Beneficiary Information: Legal name, gender, DOB, country of birth, country of citizenship, passport number, and whether Beneficiary has a master or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education
  • Information Required on Offered Position: No information about the actual offered position is required in order to register.
  • Wait list: There will be a wait list for registrations that are not selected in the lottery. If more registrants are needed to meet the regular cap and/or advanced degree exemption, USCIS will select from the wait list (or reopen the registration if needed). Last year, USCIS conducted three rounds of selections, so many employers whose registrations were not initially selected in March were still able to submit their H-1B petitions in subsequent months.

The H-1B visa allows employers to hire foreign nationals with, at a minimum, a bachelor degree in a specific specialty who will be filing a position that requires at least a bachelor degree in that specific specialty. H-1B employment for FY2023 may begin as early as October 1, 2022, and can be granted for an initial period of 3 years and can be extended for an additional 3 years. In certain cases where the H-1B employee is also the beneficiary of a green card process, he or she can remain in H-1B status beyond the 6-year maximum. Finally, the H-1B visa allows for “dual intent,” which facilitates the ability of an H-1B employee to pursue a green card process while in H-1B status.

Please feel free to contact our office with any questions regarding H-1B visas or any other U.S. immigration matters.