USCIS Selects 27K in H1B FY 2022 Second Lottery, Sample Notice

Many of you have been waiting for the USCIS update on the H1B Visa 2022 Season, if there would be a second lottery or not. Finally today, USCIS updated that they have conducted a second round H1B Lottery and selected 27K petitions. We will cover the summary of the news and updates on the second round lottery, when to file, and how it works in this article.

Background – H1B 2022 Season – First Round Lottery

Below is the background on what happened with H1B Visa season and H1B Lottery selections so far for the fiscal year 2022.

• USCIS accepted H1B visa registrations for the FY 2022 season starting from March 9th, 2021 and it lasted for two weeks until March 25th, 2021
• There were total of 308,613 H1B Registrations filed by applications as part of the H1B Registration Process
• USCIS Selected 87,500 Registrations in first round H1B Visa lottery that was conducted on March 30th, 2021. The total H1B cap for the year is 85,000. So, basically for 85,00 slots, they selected 87,500 registrations.
• All the applicants selected in first round lottery were given an option to file H1B on their behalf from April 1st, until June 30th, 2021.
• In total there were about 37,000 H1B Employers who filed the registrations. Also, about 48% of all the H1B registrations submitted were for US Masters quota.
• As USCIS did not get enough number of petitions filed by the employers from the pool of selected H1B Registrations, they have done second round lottery now.
• You can check H1B Cap Reach Dates History from FY 2000 to 2022 for more info on previous years.

Now that you have an idea of what has happened so far, let’s dive into news from today.

H1B Second Round Lottery Selection News Summary

Today, July 29th, USCIS released a press note indicating that they have conducted the second round lottery for the Fiscal year 2022 registrations that were submitted in March 2021. Below is the summary of the news release.

• Second Round Lottery Selected H1B Registrations : USCIS conducted second round H1B Lottery selection and selected 27,717 registrations. The second round lottery was conducted on the initial set of registrations that were waitlisted. In total, if we add up the first round selection of 87,500 registrations, it comes to 115,217 (87,500 + 27,717)total registrations selected so far for the FY 2022 Season.
• Filing Dates for Second Round Selected Applicants : All the applicants selected in Second round H1B Lottery can start filing their H1B petitions with USCIS starting from August 2nd until November 3rd, 2021. They are basically getting the same time as the first time selected applicants with a duration of 90 days to file the petition.
• Second Round Selection Results : Individuals who are selected in the second round H1B lottery would be informed via the myUSCIS account, where the registrations were submitted. Also, you would be able to download the H1B registration Selection Notice indicating the same. See sample below in next section.
• Where to file after selection in Second round H1B Lottery : The Service Center where the H1B petition has to filed wil be listed on the H1B registration selection notice. You need to only submit at that respective USCIS service Center. This is normal process. You cannot file H1B petition online. Also, applicants selected should attach a copy of the regisration selection notice along with their petition.
• Submit Proof of Masters Quota : If you were to select your registration as Masters quota, you need to submit proof of the same indicating that you qualify for the Master cap by submitting the education transcripts / degree for your US masters. This is not new.
• You can check Steps after H1B Registration Lottery – Flow Chart to know more on next steps

Sample H1B Visa Second Round Selection Notice

One of our community members ( anonymous for privacy) was gracious to share the second round H1B selection notice with the community. Thanks a lot to our community member!

Below is the sample. If you look closely, it is pretty much similar to the first round selection notice, just the dates are different. See the Notice Date says “7/29/2021” and the dates to file say as “08/02/2021 and 11/03/2021″

Will there be Third Round H1B Lottery ? Any hope ?

Well, so far we have never had a third-round H1B Lottery yet. Last year as well, there was only Second round lottery and it did not go past that. To give you some stats from previous year FY 2021 season, below are the same

• USCIS Conducted first round lottery for FY 2021 and selected 106,100 registrations. In second round lottery for FY 2021 they selected 18,315 registrations
• In total for FY 2021, they selected 124,415 ( 106,100 + 18,315)
• Now, for FY 2022, first round they selected 87,500 registrations and in second round they selected 27,717 registrations
• In total for FY 2022, they selected 115,217 (87,500 + 27,717)
• If you see the difference it is 9,198 ( 124,415-115,217)

Now that you have seen the numbers, you may see the difference of 9K and say there may be a third-round…but, frankly, last year was the pandemic year and it was a slightly tough job market. Now, it is a super competitive job market with a huge talent shortage. So, it may not likely happen. Also, last year, we had Trump Administration with more rules in place. Now, they’re slightly better and we may see fewer RFEs as well. So, in our view, there may not be the third round. The point is to plan for your backups and not keep up your hopes on the third lottery if you are not been picked yet.

What do you think of the current selection in Second Round Lottery? WIll there be a third round? Add your comments below.

References : USCIS H1B Registrations Page , USCIS News Alert Second round