2023 H1B Lottery Timeline : H-1B Lottery 2023-24 | Registration, Deadlines

Those who wish to apply for an H1B visa in 2023 can start by familiarising themselves with the H1B lottery process and gathering the necessary documentation. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses a lottery mechanism called the H1 B visa lottery to choose visa recipients each year. The yearly allotment of visas is limited. The State Department consequently picks applications at random from this pool.

Once the lottery is complete, the USCIS will post the results online. Each year on April 1st, a new fiscal year begins, and with it comes a new set of announcements. As a result, the 2023 lottery results will likely be announced during the first week of April.

Thousands upon thousands of people from all around the world enter a lottery every year in the hopes of being selected. Nevertheless, only a few thousand of those that apply really end up being accepted.

The H1B Visa Lottery: How Does It Function?

H1B Visa Lottery applications can be submitted beginning on the first workday of April due to a six-month pre-employment application limit window. Even if the number of registrations received in a given year exceeds the yearly limit, the registration period for that year will still stay open for the full stated period. In addition, there is no priority given to those who apply first.

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H-1B Lottery 2023-24 | Registration, Deadlines

The red ink on the application envelopes denotes the cap case classification.

Regular Cap case:

H1B1 Cap. Just 65,000 new H-1B visas can be issued each fiscal year. On August 23, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that it had received more than enough petitions to fill the 65,000 H-1B visa cap. There are also enough applications to reach the 20,000 H-1B visa threshold for those with advanced degrees for the fiscal year starting October 1, 2023.

C/S Cap Case:

Applications submitted by citizens of Treaty countries are classified as C/S Cap Cases.

U.S. Master’s Cap:

There is a quota of 20,000 visas set aside for people who get a Master’s degree (or higher) from an American university (the “U.S. Master’s Cap”). The “Master’s cap” is a hat worn by those who have achieved the highest level of mastery.

After the deadline has passed, USCIS will conduct the H-1B visa lottery to decide which applications will be advanced. Applications compete for a limited number of slots in a regular lottery. Nonetheless, applicants who state that they have a master’s degree from the United States sometimes receive additional consideration. Applications clearly labelled as “U.S. Master’s Degree” are prioritised for the normal lottery, which has 65,000 available visas. Those who don’t win the main lottery are entered into a secondary lottery for an additional 20,000 spots.

Those who have successfully registered will thereafter be contacted and invited to submit an H-1B visa petition. Petitioners must submit their requests within the allotted time frame, which is typically 90 days after receiving notification.

Those who registered but weren’t chosen in the first round are encouraged to try again in the second. While more people apply for H-1B visas each year than there are slots available, it is feasible to get chosen in consecutive rounds of the lottery if you keep trying.

H-1B Lottery 2023-24 Application Process

Registration, lottery selection, and petition submission are the three phases of the H1B visa application procedure. During registration, you will be asked to provide information about yourself (name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, employment history, education, etc.) via a website.

At this point, you must also present supporting documentation, such as a passport number and diplomas or certifications. If a visa application doesn’t register with USCIS, they won’t be considered.

The Department of State uses an online lottery system to choose winners. Based on the established annual quotas, it chooses an appropriate sample of applications from the pool of registered users. Those who successfully register with USCIS will then receive an invitation to submit a petition.

At this point in the process, the applicant must submit supplementary materials, such as a copy of the job offer letter, salary information, and any other relevant paperwork. If the application is accepted, it will be sent to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The final step, before the Visa is granted, entails validating all paperwork and following proper procedure. The initial period of validity for an H1B visa is three years, with an additional six years available through extensions. In special circumstances, including those involving applications for green cards, that time frame may be extended beyond the norm.

H-1B Lottery 2023-24 Registration Process

After the application deadline, the USCIS will randomly select winners for the H 1B visa lottery. The H1B visa application process begins and ends with the applicant’s start and end dates of employment with the H1B sponsoring employer. For Fiscal Year 2023, the H1B Visa process is outlined here, along with the due dates for each step.

1. Create a USCIS Account Online

To sponsor an H-1B worker, companies need to submit an online application for each worker they intend to sponsor.
Prior to February 21, 2023, you must register for a USCIS account online.

2. Registration & Fee Payment

Subsequently, you will need to register and pay any applicable fees.

On March 1, 2023 at 12:00 PM EST, the signup process will begin.

You or your employer must use the registration portal to submit the registrant’s information and the $10 processing fee.
The beneficiary should not be responsible for the $10 filing fee; rather, the employer should shoulder that cost.

3. Registration is now closed

The deadline to submit a H 1B application was March 18.
After that point, registrations will no longer be accepted.

4. The draw’s outcomes are made public.

The lottery’s winners will be announced on March 31. Starting on April 1, 2023, petitions on behalf of qualified applicants can be submitted.

5. The Time Limit for Filing the Petition

There is a window of opportunity to submit a petition for an H1B visa for 90 days after the results are announced.

6. Send in Your Company Details

Employers or their authorised agents (immigration lawyers) must provide detailed, primary information about their company and the targeted H 1B cap worker as part of the lottery process, which has not changed since last year.