USCIS: Unselected H-1B cap petitions have been returned

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it has returned all fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in this year’s computer-generated lottery.

Employers are reminded that it may take up to two weeks to receive all the returned petitions. USCIS received 201,011 cap-subject H-1B petitions during this year’s filing period. Data entry of all the H-1B cap petitions that were selected in the lottery was completed in May, and the agency subsequently started to return petitions that were not selected.

BAL Analysis: Employers who submitted H-1B cap petitions during the April filing period should receive either a receipt notice or a returned petition for their sponsored employees by Aug. 29. BAL has not yet received all returned petitions or receipts and is informing employers of returned petitions as they are received. In the meantime, BAL will continue to work with employers on possible alternatives for foreign workers who were not selected in the lottery.

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

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