As most of you know, USCIS received 484K H1B registrations for H1B Fiscal Year(FY) 2023 season and they selected about 127,600 in the first round. Since then, many have been speculating that there is likely going to be a second-round lottery for FY 2023 season similar to the previous H1B FY 2022 season.
Today, all of that speculation has come to an end as USCIS released an official press release indicating that they have received enough H1B petitions to meet the H1B FY 2023 cap. In this article, we will review the summary of the press release, what it means for the applicants who applied this year, and the plan for the next H1B season.
USCIS News: No Second Round H1B Lottery for FY 2023
Below is the summary of the press release by USCIS today regarding second round H1B lottery and the FY 2023 season
H1B FY 2023 Cap Reached
- USCIS said in a press release that they received enough number of H1B Petitions to reach the H1B cap of 85,000 for the FY 2023 Season.
- What does it mean?
- What it means is that of the selected 127,600 H1B registrations, there were at least 85,000 H1B petitions that they received which were filed properly.
- This means that they will not run a second-round H1B lottery or third-round H1B lottery, similar to last year for FY 2023 season.
- How many Petitions could have been received by USCIS
- If you check the history of H1B Cap reach dates and counts, they usually select about 12% to 15% of petitions as a buffer to account for denials, rejections, etc.
- If we go by that logic, they would have likely received anywhere from 95,200 to 97,750 petitions.
Completed Sending “Not Selected” Notifications
- USCIS said that they have completed sending the “not selected” notifications for all the remaining H1B applicants, who were in waitlisted after the first round H1B lottery.
- Employers would see the status set to “Not Selected” for all the applicants, who were not selected in the first round of the H1B Visa lottery. It would look like below in the H1B Online Registration System
Accepting cap-exempt H1B petitions
- USCIS re-iterated that they continue to accept H1B cap-exempt petitions. What it means is that, you can file for the below types of H1B petitions
- H1B Transfers to change employers
- H1B Extensions for extending beyond 3 years or based on GC
- H1B Concurrent employment
- H1B amendments for changes in employment terms/ duties.
- While not explicitly said, they also accept cap-exempt H1B petitions filed by non-profit research institutions, education institutions, etc. on a continuous basis without the need for going through the H1B cap.
Next Steps for Unlucky Applicants: H1B FY 2024
The sad reality for many unlucky applicants, who were not selected in H1B FY 2023 first-round lottery back in March 2022 is that they need to fall back on their backup plans. Unfortunately, their hopes to get lucky in a second-round lottery are gone, as there will not be any more selections. Below are some of the common situations
- If you are a student on OPT with the option to get STEM OPT, you may try your luck for the next upcoming H1B FY 2024 season that starts in Feb/March of 2023
- If your OPT is ending as a student, you need to either depart the country on time or consider other options to stay in the country like getting job at a non-profit cap-exempt institution.
- If you are working for a company that is outside of the US, you can try your luck next time in the next year’s H1B lottery related to H1B FY 2024 season.
Check the end-to-end timeline for H1B FY 2024 Season, if you are planning for next year.
My two cents on H1B Lottery
Some of you may have backup plans, if not selected in the H1B lottery…but, some may not…irrespective of it, we all need to accept that it is life and move on. Some of your hopes and dreams may be shattered by hearing that there is no second-round lottery…but, maybe better things await you. Don’t be disheartened. This is US Immigration and some get lucky, some do not. Many of the immigration rules may not seem logical, but we need to accept the current state and move on…
What do you think of the news and press release by USCIS about not having second-round lottery? Add your thoughts in the comments section below.
Reference: USCIS press release and the screenshot of the press release below
Hello sir please help i need I-129 petion
If at all possible will there be any chance for 2nd lottery as many of them will apply from multiple companies and for most them have picked from all the companies but he is eligible to file petition from one company then what about the other companies where he got picked and he cant file petition from all the companies.
Is there any possibility of checking if the H1-B petition is filed or not based on the selection notice provided for H1-B 2023 lottery. There is no update on case receipt from Employer as he is saying he didn’t receive it yet. What should be the next course of action
SD,
No, you need the receipt notice that you have after filing to check the status online.
Is it possible that case receipt are not yet received for almost 3 months
SD,
very rare, but possible at times.
I have a question. A couple of days ago, I received the F2 Approval and the notice date is 09/09/2022. Although I received the H1B approval today, the notice date is 09/08/2022, even before the F2 approval notice date. Will it affect my H1B? (The day that I received the F2 approval, I checked for the H1B status using the tracking tools of USCIS and found no update). In the F2 approval, it shows valid from 09/09/2022, and in the H1B approval, it shows valid from 10/01/2022. I’m worried if there are any problems with the duplicate status.
And what should I do?
I think H1B status will be valid for you as that is the recent one according to the date you provided. Still confirm with your attorney
Hi
I need some info on expired H1B – someone I know had an approved H1B and had travelled to US in 2013 and stayed only 1 year. However, the visa expired in 2014. Post that the person also changed employer. Query is that whether the person can apply under cap-exempt with present employer given there was around 2-yr left in the expired visa or should a new visa be applied for ? Thanks
Partha,
The person is cap exempt as they had status at least once and not used up all 6 years.
Kumar, What is receipt number starting from IOEXXXXX? Do you know processing time for fresh H1B petition?
H1B,
IOE does not tell the service center, the receipt notice will have it at the bottom. The processing time varies by location, you can check VisaGrader H1B Processing times
I believe IOE is for online petition filing code
MyName,
It is for online petitions as well as the ones that are digitized by scanning.
Thanks Kumar, MyName for replying.
Not sure why my petition is under actively review since date of filing i.e.28.June.2022. It was filed at Texas Service Center.
H1B,
It is very normal to be in that status, do not worry.
Hypothetical question: 127,600 H1B Registrations are selected for FY 2023 Season and cap is 85K so what if filed legitimately more than 85K (say 100K).
Does USICS reject the rest of filings once reached the limit 85k approved or scope to approve further irrespective of cap?
In this scenario, ofcourse bleak chances for 2nd lottery.
Akhil,
Usually they do not reject anything once they have accepted the petition. Based on the historical trends, they know that some of them will get rejected, some will not file, etc. So, it is their best guess and most of the time there is never a situation they will go back and run other round after announcement.
Thank you for the information.
Really sad that there is no second lottery and we need to move on and only option as if now. I want to know so e details, my petition was showing as actively reviewing means there is a chance of approving or denials and they will start processing fast now?
Srini,
It does not mean anything, it just tells that they are working on your case. You cannot say based on that if they can approve or not. Just need to wait.