The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that they have received enough petitions to meet the cap for H-1B visas.
This means that the congressional cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for regular applicants and an additional 20,000 visas for US advanced degree holders has been reached.
For those who have registered and are not selected, the USCIS will send out non-selection notices through their online accounts. The status will indicate that they are not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on their registration.
Once the annual cap set by the US government is exceeded, a lottery system is used to process the petitions for H-1B visas.
The deadline for submitting H-1B cap petitions was June 30, 2024, but petitions received on July 1, 2024, due to the deadline falling on a Sunday will also be considered on time.
While the cap for H-1B visas has been met, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the cap. These include petitions to extend the time a current H-1B worker can stay in the US, change employment terms, change employers, or work in additional H-1B positions.
It is important to stay informed about notifications from USCIS and not miss any deadlines or important information related to the visa lottery process.
Although a majority of H-1B visa holders are Indians, USCIS data shows a decline in sponsorships from major firms like Google, Amazon, Infosys, and IBM.
