The U.S. government is gearing up for the first round of the H-1B visa lottery, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) set to select applicants through a randomized process from the submitted electronic applications.
Registrations for the H-1B visa recently closed, with the deadline for the fiscal year 2025's initial registration ending on March 22, but was later extended to March 25.
USCIS has announced that the lottery dates will be revealed soon. Given the high demand for the H-1B visa, the American agency employs a lottery system.
Each year, the U.S. issues 85,000 H-1B visas, 20,000 of which are reserved for graduates of U.S. universities. The remaining 65,000 visas are distributed through the lottery.
According to USCIS, those selected after registration closes will be informed by March 31 through their myUSCIS online account. Subsequently, the H-1B cap petitions can be filed starting April 1, while the dates for the H-1B non-cap petitions will be announced soon.
USCIS noted that the application forms for non-immigrant workers, Form I-129, and for premium processing, Form I-907, are available online.
From April 1, visa applications for fiscal year 2025 will be accepted. After many years, the U.S. government has also increased the visa fee from $10 to $110, with the registration fee for the H-1B visa hiking from $10 to $215.
The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that authorizes U.S. companies to employ foreign workers. Whenever an individual works for an American company, they are issued an H-1B visa, initially valid for 3 years and extendable up to 6 years.
Indians are the largest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa. Statistics indicate that more than 70% of the H-1B visas issued each year by the U.S. go to Indian nationals.
