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H-1B Visa Eligibility and Registration

By Kailey Blazek Naranjo
March 1, 2023
  • H-1B
  • Immigration
  • Immigration Services
  • United States
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This is the first post in an upcoming H-1B Frequently Asked Questions series. Please contact your Dentons Immigration attorney for additional information and the next steps on the H-1B application process and lottery.

H-1B Background

H-1B status is reserved for professionals with a bachelors or higher degree or foreign equivalent performing a job that requires a degree in a specific field (a “specialty occupation”).

Many years ago, Congress chose 65,000 as the number of new H-1Bs to award each fiscal year. Later, an additional 20,000 H-1Bs were allocated to people who earned U.S. master’s or higher degrees. This combined total of 85,000 is known as the H-1B “cap.”  Exceptions exist, but most private-sector employers are subject to the cap.

Because many more applications for H-1Bs are made each year than the number available, the process turned into a lottery. In 2020, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) installed a new registration system, scrapping the old application process that required employers and immigration practitioners to pre-prepare and mail in all H-1B lottery petitions in the first five business days of April.

Now employers and their legal counsel submit H-1B applicants via an online registration system, which is far less burdensome than the prior application process. This year, registration is open from March 1 – March 17. USCIS has announced they intend to notify selected registrants by March 31. H-1B petitions for selected registrants can be filed beginning April 1 and up to 90 days thereafter.

Q: Who is eligible for the H-1B lottery?

A: Two factors make a foreign national eligible for H-1B status. Foreign nationals with (1) a U.S. bachelor’s or higher-level degree (or foreign equivalent); and (2) a valid job offer from a legitimate, cap-subject U.S. employer. The degree held by the candidate must be related to the role offered and the job must require a degree in a specialty field to perform the occupation.

Q: Am I ineligible for the lottery this year if I graduate earning my bachelor’s degree in May?

A: Students completing their bachelor’s or higher-level degree are not required to have earned their qualifying degree before the registration period closes. So long as their degree is earned before the H-1B filing window concludes (Friday, Jun 30), they’re eligible for this year’s H-1B cap.

Q: Will submitting my registration on the first day increase my odds of selection?

A: No. The lottery is conducted randomly after the registration period closes. Your odds for selection will increase with a US master’s or higher-level degree, otherwise, there is no way to improve your odds, it is truly random.

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Dentons Davis Brown, H-1B, H-1B visa, H-1B Visa Eligibility and Registration
Kailey Blazek Naranjo

About Kailey Blazek Naranjo

Kailey is an immigration lawyer and collaborator. She focuses on providing clients with the information they need at the time they need it, whether it’s answering an urgent call to address an immediate concern or brainstorming long-term visa or business solutions. Regardless of her clients’ situations, Kailey seeks to minimize the burden of immigration law and its ever-changing procedures.

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