Last Updated on February 23, 2023
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received 483,927 fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B registrations in March 2022, which is a new record. Of the registrations received for FY 2023 consideration, USCIS selected 127,600 registrations for which a complete FY 2023 H-1B petition may be submitted. That number is 56.8% higher than the total number of 87,500 registrations that USCIS selected for the first FY 2022 H-1B cap lottery last year.
Overview
While the annual numerical limit on H-1B cap-subject petitions is a total of 85,000, USCIS can consider multiple factors to determine how many registrations it will accept each year. The agency looks at historical data related to approvals, denials, revocations and other relevant factors to determine the number of accepted petitions it needs to reach the H-1B cap every fiscal year.
The total number of registrations that USCIS received this year exceeds the total of 308,613 registrations it received in FY 2022. Last year, USCIS conducted an unprecedented three lotteries to reach the H-1B cap limit for FY 2022. USCIS conducted the initial selection in March 2021, followed by a second selection in July and a third selection in November. The second and third lotteries were conducted to account for the fact that USCIS received too few accepted petitions from the initial lottery selection.
Looking Ahead
The agency has not yet announced if it will conduct more lotteries for the FY 2023 cap season.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Envoy is pleased to provide you this information, which was prepared in collaboration with Louis Massard, who is a Partner at Global Immigration Associates (GIA), one of the two independent U.S. law firms Envoy exclusively works with on the Envoy Platform (the "U.S. Law Firms").
Content in this publication is for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult an attorney at one of the two U.S. Law Firms working with the Envoy Platform or another qualified professional. On non-U.S. immigration issues, consult an Envoy global immigration service provider or another qualified representative.
