U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it has conducted the initial H-1B lottery after having received enough registrations to exceed the allotted H-1B quotas during the electronic registration period.

Key Points:

  • USCIS said it has notified all prospective H-1B petitioners whose registrations were selected in the lottery.
  • MyUSCIS H-1B registrant accounts will show the status of each registration as “selected,” “submitted,” “denied” or “invalidated-failed payment.”
    • “Selected.” This means the registration was selected to file an H-1B petition.
    • “Submitted.” The registration was submitted and was not selected in the initial lottery but remains eligible if there are other selections for the 2022 fiscal year.
    • “Denied.” This means that multiple petitions were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. These registrations are invalid.
    • “Invalidated-failed payment.” This means that a registration was submitted but the payment was declined, not reconciled or otherwise invalid. These registrations are invalid.
  • Petitioners may begin to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for selected candidates April 1, and the filing period will run for 90 days. For more information, visit USCIS’ H-1B Cap Season page.

BAL Analysis: Companies are reminded that while the filing period will remain open for 90 days, they should prioritize time-sensitive candidates such as F-1 students on cap-gap and others whose status may expire soon. BAL continues to monitor the H-1B process and will provide updates as information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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