Last Updated on February 26, 2023
Electronic Registration Overview
About The H-1B Cap Lottery
The H-1B cap lottery opens each government fiscal year. During this time, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants 85,000 new H-1B visas. The “cap” refers to the limit on the number of H-1B visas issued in a year. Typically, USCIS receives more than 85,000 filings, which is why they conduct a random selection, or lottery, on the H-1B cap cases received.
About Electronic Registration
Last year, USCIS changed the H-1B cap lottery selection process. Now, all employers are required to register prospective H-1B beneficiaries via its online system called myUSCIS. If your employer’s registration is selected in the lottery, they may move forward with submitting the H-1B cap petition on your behalf.
What You Can Expect Next
The legal team will assist your employer with the electronic registration process. You can expect a case to open in your Envoy account, where you will need to complete a questionnaire and upload documents. After USCIS conducts the lottery, the legal team will be notified if your employer’s registration is selected. Once your employer confirms next steps, the legal team will continue case preparation.
Who should you contact with questions
For questions about registration for the lottery, please contact your employer. The Envoy Customer Experience Team can best assist Envoy users with any non-legal questions including the Envoy platform, and can be reached by phone, email or through our live chat. If the question is legal in nature and you would like to speak to an attorney, please post to your Communication Center within your Envoy account.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 866-963-4266
Live chat: Accessible at the bottom right of your account
Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST (except U.S. holidays)
H-1B Cap Timeline and Next Steps
*Dates are subject to change based on updates from USCIS
Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult an Envoy-affiliated attorney at Global Immigration Associates, Corporate Immigration Partners or another qualified professional.