With the H-1B lottery season for fiscal year 2023 fast approaching, below is an outline to the H-1B lottery process. The outline will ensure that you have all the information you need so that you are fully prepared and ready for the process:
DHS has withdrawn the H-1B selection rule based on wage level. The lottery has returned to its normal guidelines.
Lottery Facts & Timeline
Timelines are based on registration from the 2022 fiscal year. Barring any further changes by the Government, here is what you need to know:
- The 2023 Fiscal Year H-1B Cap Lottery is completely random.
- Our review process of Cap cases will begin in January. To ensure we can advise in an effective and timely manner, we must have all the required information before February 15th.
- We expect the H-1B Cap filing window to open on April 1st.
- We have 90-days from the projected April 1st start date to submit the H-1B Petition
- Approved candidates will not be able to move to H-1B status until the start of the Government’s 2023 fiscal year, on October 1, 2022.
- As it did for last year’s lottery, the Government may conduct additional lottery drawings in June and October.
Key Dates
- H-1B Cap Serotte Law review due February 15th.
- H-1B Cap Registration period will open on March 9th at noon Eastern.
- H-1B Cap Registration period will close on March 25th at noon Eastern.
- Registrants will be notified on March 31st if they made it into the lottery.
H-1B Cap Candidates*:
- Recent graduates from U.S. universities whom you have hired in the U.S. with F-1 OPT status.
- Foreign employees residing outside the U.S. who you may want to hire and bring over to the U.S.
* Foreign nationals who have not held H-1B status previously within the last six years.
Additional Information:
There are 65,000 H-1B Cap positions available for candidates with a U.S. bachelor’s degree or a foreign bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree or higher. Additional 20,000 available exclusively for candidates who have U.S. master’s degrees. As with previous years, we expect many more than those numbers to apply (last year it was over 300,000 registrations), and so USCIS will conduct a ‘lottery’ to randomly select the 85,000 candidates who can apply for and receive these new H-1Bs.
Please reach out to the Serotte Law team at H1Bcap@Serottelaw.com with any questions you may have regarding the H1 B Cap lottery process
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As always, Serotte Law is here to help you navigate the complexities of our immigration system and keep you fully updated on the ever-changing immigration policies and landscape especially in these unprecedented times.
Stay Safe and Healthy!
The Serotte Law Team