Preparing for the 2025 H-1B Lottery: Key Changes and Critical Steps

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2026 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. 

Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $215 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary.

After the H-1B registration period closes on March 24, 2025, USCIS will randomly select unique beneficiaries and send selection notifications via users’ online accounts. By March 31, 2025, USCIS intends to notify prospective petitioners and representatives whose accounts have at least one registration selected.

Companies with beneficiaries selected in the lottery are eligible to file H-1B petitions for those beneficiaries during the designated filing period, which is April 1 - June 30, 2025.

Recent Updates to the H-1B Electronic Registration Process

1. Increased H-1B Registration Fee: Starting in March 2025, U.S. company petitioners will need to pay a registration fee of $215 for each beneficiary registered in the H-1B lottery. For beneficiaries selected in the H-1B lottery, company petitioners will pay filing fees to submit a full H-1B petition.

   
   

2. Beneficiary-centric selection process: In January 2024, USCIS implemented a beneficiary-centric selection process to ensure that each beneficiary has an equal chance of being selected in the H-1B lottery, regardless of the number of H-1B registrations submitted on their behalf. Under this process, H-1B registrations are selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. Therefore, a beneficiary with an H-1B registration submitted by Company A and another registration submitted by Company B has the same chance of selection as a beneficiary with a registration submitted by only one company.

   
   

3. Passport information required for each beneficiary: Starting in 2024, USCIS requires petitioners to provide valid passport or travel document information for each beneficiary registered in the H-1B lottery. This information is used to ensure that each beneficiary is only entered into the lottery once. The passport or travel document provided must be the one the beneficiary intends to use to enter the United States if issued an H-1B visa. Each beneficiary may only be registered under one passport or travel document.

Key Steps in the H-1B Electronic Registration Process

1. Companies identify employees for the H-1B and collect information

   • Companies should start identifying current and potential employees (beneficiaries) who qualify for the H-1B specialty occupation visa.

   • Companies should begin collecting the information required for each beneficiary in the H-1B electronic registration process, including:

     • Beneficiary’s full name, date of birth, country of birth, country of citizenship, gender, and passport number.

     • Beneficiary's educational qualifications, including whether the beneficiary has a master’s degree from a U.S. college. Beneficiaries who have a U.S. Master's degree or higher are entered in the H-1B lottery under both the Master's cap and the Regular H-1B cap.

   
   

2. Companies set up online accounts for H-1B registration

   • Company petitioners and their legal representatives (if any) need to set up organizational accounts at my.uscis.gov if they do not already have these set up from H-1B registrations in prior years.

   • Next, petitioners need to create a company group with basic information including company name, federal employer identification number (FEIN), company representative information, and mailing address.

   • Organizational accounts and company groups are used to submit H-1B registrations and track registration status, including whether the beneficiary is selected in the H-1B lottery.

   
   

3. Companies submit registrations during the H-1B registration period

   • The registration period will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and run through noon Eastern on March 24, 2025. 

   • Anytime during this registration period in March, companies can submit H-1B registrations for the beneficiaries they are sponsoring.

   
   

4. USCIS conducts the H-1B Lottery and selects beneficiaries

   • After the two week H-1B registration period closes on March 24, 2025, USCIS will randomly select beneficiaries from eligible H-1B registrations

   • The H-1B lottery is divided into two categories:

     • Regular Cap: 65,000 H-1B visas/statuses are available under the regular H-1B cap.

     • Master’s Cap: An additional 20,000 H-1B visas/statuses are available for candidates with a U.S. master’s degree or higher.

   • USCIS will notify petitioners by March 31, 2025 if a beneficiary they submitted an H-1B registration for has been selected in the lottery.

   • Company petitioners receive selection notices with instructions on when and where to submit a full petition for selected beneficiaries.

   
   

5. Filing a Cap H-1B Petition

   • For selected beneficiaries, petitioners can file an H-1B petition within the designated filing period, which is April 1st to June 30th. 

   • As part of the full H-1B petition, petitioners will need to prepare extensive documentation, including a labor condition application, proof of the foreign worker’s educational qualifications and experience, details about the job offered and its duties, along with the company’s finances and operations.

   
   

6. Approval and H-1B Visa Issuance

   • If USCIS issues a Request for Evidence (RFE), the company will need to review the concerns raised and provide further documentation in response to the RFE.

   • If USCIS approves the company's cap H-1B petition, the beneficiary will be issued an approval notice, allowing them to work in the U.S. for an initial period of up to three years. The H-1B visa/status can be extended for an additional three years, up to a total of six years.

Conclusion

U.S. companies that need skilled foreign workers should begin planning for the H-1B registration process coming up in early March 2025 by identifying current or potential employees who qualify for the H-1B specialty occupation visa. Additionally, companies should start collecting information for H-1B registration from each beneficiary, including verifying that each beneficiary has a valid passport or travel document before the registration period.

Reach out to shilpi@bimmigrationlaw.com if you have any questions about the H-1B registration process or would like to schedule a consultation. We are here to help!