USCIS Will Run Second H-1B Lottery from Previously Submitted FY 2025 H-1B Regular Cap Registrations

In March, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2025 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions during the filing period on their registration selection notice. The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2025 was from April 1 through June 30, 2024.

USCIS recently determined that they would need to select additional registrations for unique beneficiaries to reach the FY 2025 regular cap numerical allocation. Soon, they will select additional registrations for unique beneficiaries from previously submitted electronic registrations using a random selection process, and will notify prospective petitioners with selected registrations from this second round of selection that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration. USCIS will announce when they have completed this second process of selections and notifications.

They will not be conducting a second selection for the advanced degree exemption (the master’s cap), as enough master’s cap registrations were already selected and sufficient petitions were received based on those registrations as projected to meet the FY 2025 masters cap numerical allocation. The second round of selection for the regular cap will include previously submitted registrations that indicated eligibility for the master’s cap along with those that indicated only eligibility for the regular cap.

Those with selected registrations will have their USCIS online accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.