Each year, there is a limited number of H-1B Specialty Occupation visas available for employers offering jobs to professionals in the United States. In order for one to qualify for an H-1B visa, there must be a US employer; a specialty occupation job offer, i.e., one where the job duties cannot be performed by someone without a degree in a specific field of study; an offered wage that meets the Department of Labor requirements; and a qualified employee.
Due to the popularity of this visa, each fiscal year, USCIS has been running out of visas and therefore has had to conduct random electronic lotteries for the past several years to address this perennial problem. For the upcoming fiscal year (FY2025), which starts October 1, 2024, USCIS conducted a lottery in March. Employers with entries selected in that lottery had until June 30, 2024 to file petitions. Today, USCIS announced that after processing those petitions, they will have remaining visas for the upcoming fiscal year and therefore will be conducting a second lottery shortly. No new entries will be accepted. Instead, USCIS will conduct the lottery based on the remaining entries that were not selected in March. Stay tuned for more updates!
The above information has been provided for educational purposes. Please contact your Clark Lau LLC attorney to determine how the above news may impact your circumstances.