H1B Lottery Registration

If you are an employer petitioning a new H1B visa for an employee (who is not already on an H1B), you will need to participate in the annual H1B lottery process, which typically takes place in March, to secure an H1B visa spot. Only 65,000 H1B visas are available for applicants from all countries, with an additional 20,000 for applicants who have a U.S. Masters degree or above. Because each year there are many more applicants than are the number of visas available, a randomized selection process determines who can move forward.

For employers, registering an applicant for the H1B lottery is a fairly straightforward process, but care must be taken on complying with the right procedures within the time window that USCIS designates. For this year’s lottery (FY 2024), registration will open on March 1, 2023 at noon Eastern time and close on March 17. On March 31, 2023, USCIS will notify registrants of whether they were selected in the lottery. Starting from April 1, 2023, H1B cap-subject petitions may be filed if the applicant was selected.

Registration for the lottery is done online through a specific account USCIS allows employers to create. Relevant information to be provided at this stage include the following:

Business or organization name

Federal Employer ID Number (EIN)

The primary U.S. office address of the business or organization

Contact information of the authorized individual of the Company (employer)

Basic information of the beneficiary (employee), including their name, date of birth, country of birth and nationality, passport number.

As evident from the above, at the registration stage only some basic information from the employer and employee is needed. Once the case is selected in the H1B lottery, then a more thorough volume of evidence will be collected and prepared for submission to USCIS to prove that the beneficiary, job offer, and employer meet the regulatory requirements for eligibility for the H1B visa.