All You Need To Know About H1-B Lottery Process

Read All About H1-B Lottery Process

A non-US foreign national applying for an H1B visa to work in the USA takes his/her opportunity with the H1B visa lottery each year. H1B petitions are submitted only once a year during the application window. Therefore, it is significant that all measures are followed correctly to avoid problems.  The H1-B Visa applicant’s sponsor submits a registration for the employee during the annual registration window in April. The registration requires only a detailed summary of the applicant. The lottery is one of many phases in the H1B application procedure.

The H1B visa lottery process is a complex and often confusing system for those seeking to work in the United States. It is an important part of the immigration process, as it allows employers to hire foreign workers with specialized skills and knowledge. This essay will discuss the process of the H1B visa lottery, including the application process, the selection criteria, and the potential outcomes.

H1b Lottery Application Process

The H1B visa lottery process begins with the employer filing a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This petition must include a detailed description of the job duties, salary, and other relevant information. Once the petition is approved, the employer can then submit an application to the USCIS for the H1B visa lottery. The application must include a list of potential candidates, along with their qualifications and experience. Once the application is approved, the USCIS will randomly select a certain number of applicants to receive an H1B visa.

The Selection Criteria of H1b Lottery Process

The USCIS uses a variety of criteria to determine which applicants will be selected for the H1B visa lottery. These criteria include education level, work experience, and other factors. The USCIS also considers the employer’s need for a foreign worker with specialized skills and knowledge. Additionally, the USCIS may consider the applicant’s ability to contribute to the U.S. economy and job market.

How Does The H-1B visa Lottery Process Work

The number of annual registrations made during the registration window generally far surpasses the annual cap level and the number of vacant visas. The window continues to be open to registrations for the declared period, even after the cap has been surpassed. Selection process is not on a first come first served basis. When the registration window is closed, USCIS takes out the H-1B visa lottery to specify which registrations will be brought on to the next stage. This is a spontaneous selection procedure of registrations accepted during the open window.

Lottery selections are filtered at random and are not specified by when registration was accepted nor is there any assessment of the merit of the registration. Once the 65,000 H1B cap has been filled, 20,000 requests will be randomly chosen from the Masters Cap application. Any of the 20,000 that are not appointed will return back into the regular cap.

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Successful petitions are then notified and asked to fulfil their full H-1B request within the given deadline. The specified deadline is commonly 90 days from the announcement. Selection in the visa lottery does not ensure the visa will be granted to the worker. The application will be evaluated against the visa requirements and eligibility standards.

How To Increase Your H1B Lottery Chances?

There are a few strategies to improve your H-1B lottery odds. The most evident way to improve your odds is to qualify for the master’s level (or higher) cap exemption. Being in the master’s degree cap-exemption pool boosts your likelihoods of at least a few percentage points. Don’t file your request after the cap is achieved because then you have less possibility of obtaining an H-1B visa for the 2022–2023 fiscal year.

To increase your H-1B lottery chances will require a quick submission of your application and all-important papers. If you hesitate and miss the current window, your possibility will be zero.

Follow the below steps to ensure you are avoiding any possible uncertainties or problems in the lottery selection process:

• Ensure all application information and documents have been given and the exact fees has been paid.
• Never send in your H1B petition before the opening period of the request window in April.
• Apply as soon as the window opens.
• Ensure that you have the mandatory degree or specialist knowledge to meet the eligibility for the job.
• Make sure that the job is eligible for an H1B visa.
• Don’t send many applications for one job. If an employer makes numerous or duplicated H1B applications for a single employee, it will be rejected. If USCIS accepts multiple applications from a single employer for one job position, they will deny them both. Two applications submitted by the candidate will eliminate your H-1B lottery chances.

How to Check Your H-1B Lottery Results?

Discovering whether you were chosen in the H-1B lottery can be achieved through several methods. Below are the steps to verify your lottery status : 

• There are some ways to check out if you were selected in the H-1B Lottery Process. Below are the steps to verify your lottery status

• One of the simplest methods involves checking if USCIS has processed your H-1B application fee payment. If your petition is not selected, the fee will be refunded. Thus, if USCIS successfully cashed your check, it indicates your application was chosen.
• An alternative approach is to check whether your employer has received a 13-digit receipt number sent to them after your petition is selected. If they have yet to receive this number, you were not set. Once you have obtained your 13-digit number, you can use the USCIS Case Status Tool Online to enter the case number and view its status.

• All lottery winners are issued a stamped I-797 Form by Immigration and Naturalization Services, signifying their selection in the lottery.

• If you have applied as a nonimmigrant student in the advanced degree pool, you can monitor your application status by accessing the Student and Exchange Visitor Information (SEVIS) website. This website is consistently updated to reflect the selection of winners.
  • Suppose you are an F1 student who has earned a degree in one of the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math). In that case, your employer is registered in E-Verify, and you were initially granted post-completion OPT based on your STEM degree. You are eligible to request a 24-month extension of your employment authorization.

Understanding Your Status on USCIS Portal

Once you access the USCIS case status online tool, your case number will be accompanied by one of the following statuses. Here’s what each status signifies:

• Submitted: If the term ‘submitted’ is visible, your application is still under consideration by USCIS, and this status may persist until the end of the fiscal year. Please note that your case has yet to be accepted or approved.
• Selected: Congratulations on being selected in the lottery! Now it’s time to celebrate, as your sponsor must file the I-129 petition after April 1, 2023. To streamline the registration process for USCIS, there might be staggered filing deadlines for individuals chosen in the lottery. Please pay close attention to the filing deadlines specified in your file to ensure a smooth process.
• Not Selected:  unfortunately, you have not been selected, and this status will persist until the conclusion of the fiscal year (October 1, 2023).
• Denied: If your sponsor submits multiple registrations for the same beneficiary, you will encounter this situation.

Starting from March 17, 2023, all registrations will initially show as “submitted.” Some of these registrations will later switch to either “selected” or “denied,” while others will continue to be “submitted.” If USCIS requires additional registrations to fill the cap for the fiscal year, they will choose more registrations from the “submitted” pool. However, by October 1, 2023, the remaining “submitted” rosters will be updated to “not selected.”

Current H1B Filling Fee- 2023-24 : 

We will keep you informed about any H-1B filing fee updates. However, it is advisable to seek advice from your immigration lawyer to determine the optimal approach for your situation. The law of Prashanthi Reddy, PLLC, offers highly competitive filing fees, including responses to RFEs. Please refer to this page for a comprehensive breakdown of their H-1B attorney fees.

Fee	Amount	Responsible for Fee
Registration Fee	$10	Employer
Premium Processing (optional)	$2,500	Employer or Employe
Public Law 114-113 Fee	$4,000	Employer
Basic Filing Fee	$460	Employer
USCIS Anti-Fraud Fee	$500	Employer
ACWIA Education and Training Fee	$750 (less than 25 employees) $1,500 (more than 25 employees)	Employer
Attorney Fee	Variable	Employer

Please be aware that the Public Law fee is applicable solely to employers with more than fifty employees, and at least half of those employees must be H-1B holders in order for the fee to be enforced.

If you are successful in the H-1B lottery Process

If you are selected in the H-1B visa lottery, you will be notified and asked to file your H-1B cap petition. To do this, your employer must first submit a Labour Condition Application form ETA-9035 (LCA) to the United States Department of Labour for certification. This LCA is an important document that must be filled out correctly and accurately in order to ensure that your H-1B petition is accepted. It contains important information about the type of job you will be doing, the wages you will be paid, and the working conditions you will be subject to. Once the LCA is certified, your employer can then file the H-1B petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. After the petition is filed, you will be notified of the decision and whether or not you have been approved for an H-1B visa.

The LCA should indicate the employer’s commitment to:

• We want to make sure that you are fairly compensated for the position, so we will pay you at least the standard wage paid to other employees with your qualifications, or if it’s more than the usual wage, we will pay you the typical wage for this role in the local area.
• We promise to offer a work environment that won’t be detrimental to other employees like you, and that there won’t be any strikes or lockouts occurring when the Labour Condition Application is submitted.

Once you’ve been certified, your employer must submit an I-129 Non-immigrant Worker Petition form and the certified LCA to the appropriate USCIS Service Centre. Upon approval of the Petition form, you can apply for you visa through DS-160 – the Online Non-immigrant Visa Application system. You’ll need to schedule an interview at the nearest US Embassy or Consulate.

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H1B Visa Requirements

The H1B visa is a great way for US businesses and organisations to access highly skilled foreign nationals. To be eligible for an H1B visa, applicants must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a speciality occupation, such as engineering, medicine, or IT. Additionally, the applicant must possess the necessary skills, knowledge, or experience to perform the job duties. Furthermore, the employer must provide evidence that the position requires a highly skilled foreign national and that there are no qualified US workers available to fill the position. Finally, the employer must provide a valid job offer and salary that meets the prevailing wage rate. With these requirements in place, the H1B visa is a great way for US businesses and organisations to access the talent they need.

The H1B visa is a type of visa that allows foreign nationals to work in the United States in a specialty occupation. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a specialty occupation is defined as one that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty. Examples of specialty occupations include engineering, medicine, mathematics, computing, architecture, and the sciences. The job must also require a level of expertise and knowledge that is typically associated with a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty.

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Are you eligible for an H1B visa? It all depends on if you have an offer of employment in a suitable role from a US employer and if you meet at least one of the following conditions :

1- Do you have a Bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited US institution in the relevant field of speciality?
2- Or do you possess an equivalent foreign degree in this same speciality occupation?
3- Are you authorized to practice and be employed in the speciality occupation in the state where the employment is located?
4- Do you have either education, training, or experience that is equivalent to a degree and also recognized as having an appropriate level of expertise in the field?

There are also H1B eligibility requirements for the job that you wish to be employed in. At least one of the following must apply:

1- To get this job, you must have a bachelor’s degree or higher, or an equivalent qualification and relevant experience.
2- For this role, having a degree is the industry standard, or the job is too complex or specialised to be done without a degree.
3- The employer insists on a degree or equivalent for anyone they recruit.
4- The duties in this job are too intricate and specialised to be done without the knowledge that usually comes with a bachelor’s or higher degree.

Alternatives of H1B Visa :

If your H1B petition is not successful, look into alternatives like the L1 visa for intracompany worker roles or the O1 visa if you have extraordinary ability or achievement in science, art, education, sports, or business. What works best for you depends on your situation.

H1B Lottery Process- How The Law Offices of Prashanthi Reddy, PLLC Can help

Our experienced US immigration lawyers can help make sure your H1B visa application is filled out correctly, the right paperwork is put together, and the process is handled successfully. As legal experts, we can also discuss alternative visa options in light of the competitive H1B Visa Lottery.  Contact us to discuss your H-1B visa requirements. If you have any questions about the H1B visa or work visa, email me directly at prashanthi@reddyesq.com or call us at (212) 354-1010. Our team of US immigration lawyers and We would be happy to help you get your H1B visa.As Well new York, Florida,  New Jersey, Texas, and  California .. My team of US immigration lawyers and I would be happy to help you get your H1B visa.

This article is here to provide you with helpful information, not legal advice.