U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Thursday that it would conduct a second H-1B registration lottery for the 2024 fiscal year.

‌Key Points:

  • USCIS completed its initial lottery of H-1B cap-subject registrations in March. The agency subsequently announced that it selected 110,791 of 758,994 eligible registrations. The filing period for registrations selected in the first lottery ran from April 1 to June 30.
  • In its announcement Thursday, USCIS said it “recently determined that we would need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical allocations.” The agency said it will announce once it has completed the second lottery and notified prospective petitioners that they are eligible to file H-1B petitions for the beneficiary in question.
  • Those with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which will include filing instructions.

BAL Analysis: The huge number of registrations submitted this year demonstrates the ongoing popularity of the H-1B program and the high demand for the limited annual number of visas. News of a second lottery is a welcome development, though it remains to be seen how many additional registrations will be selected. BAL will provide updates as information becomes available.

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

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