On January 30, 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the registration period for FY 2025 H-1B cap cases runs from 12:00 noon EST on March 6, 2024 through 12:00 noon EDT on March 22, 2024. On March 21, 2024, USCIS announced it is extending the initial registration period to 12:00 noon EDT on March 25, 2024 because some registrants encountered technical difficulties.

USCIS introduced the registration process for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap cases during the FY 2021 cap season. To prepare for the upcoming H-1B cap season, employers and their counsel should:

H-1B visas are popular with employers because of their broad applicability, but USCIS approves no more than 85,000 new H-1Bs for each fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). The new H-1B visas allowed each FY are allocated as follows:

The limited availability of H-1B visas is known as the H-1B cap. For more information on the H-1B cap and its impact on employers, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: The H-1B Cap.

Employers with beneficiaries selected during the registration period may generally begin requesting new H-1B visas on April 1st, six months before the fiscal year starts on October 1st, and may continue to file cap-subject H-1B petitions until the annual cap is reached. In most years, the H-1B cap is met by April 7th, in the first week that USCIS accepts new H-1B petitions. H-1B cap case usage was lower for FY 2022 and FY 2023 given the economic impact and travel impediments imposed by COVID-19, but was exhausted in the final selection process on November 19, 2021 and August 23, 2022, respectively. See Box, FY 2012 to FY 2024 H-1B Cap Seasons.

In 2023, USCIS received an unusually high number of registrations, leading USCIS to conclude that some employers were trying to "game" the system by filing multiple registrations for the same beneficiary, increasing the likelihood that one of their registrations would be selected. As a result, USCIS changed the selection process to focus on the beneficiary instead of an employer's job opportunity.

Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions must complete an electronic registration. The electronic registration period starts at least 14 days before April 1, when the H-1B petition filing period generally begins, and remains open for at least 14 days. USCIS announces the initial registration period on its website at least 30 calendar days before the period begins.

On January 30, 2024, USCIS announced that the registration period for FY 2025 H-1B cap cases runs from 12:00 noon EST on March 6, 2024 through 12:00 noon EDT on March 22, 2024. On March 21, 2024, USCIS announced it is extending the initial registration period to 12:00 noon EDT on March 25, 2024 because some registrants encountered technical difficulties. (See USCIS: H-1B Electronic Registration Process.)

The registration must include the foreign national's valid passport or travel document details. The foreign worker may be registered under only one passport or travel document (new 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(4)(ii)). For more information on this and other registration requirements, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Filing Cap-Subject Petitions: Registration and Revised Selection Procedures.

On January 12, 2024, USCIS introduced a package of "customer experience improvements" for the FY 2025 H-1B cap season. The improvements include organizational accounts beginning with the FY 2025 H-1B cap season. Organizational accounts are a new online platform that permits multiple individuals (including the petitioning organization and their legal representative) to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, Forms I-129 requesting H-1B status, and associated Forms I-907 requesting premium processing. Registrants can create or upgrade existing accounts on the new organizational accounts platform beginning at 12:00 noon EST on February 28, 2024. Existing representatives may add new clients to their accounts at any time. For more information, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Organizational myUSCIS Accounts and Online Filing.

USCIS must also announce:

Petitioning employers:

If USCIS receives more registrations than needed to satisfy the cap, it runs the random selection after the registration period closes and before March 31, 2024. On February 2, 2024, USCIS published a rule amending the registration process to introduce integrity measures and the selection process to focus on the foreign worker beneficiary (a "beneficiary-centric approach") rather than a specific job opportunity (89 Fed. Reg. 7456 (Feb. 2, 2024)). The new rule took effect on March 4, 2024.

Under this system, if USCIS receives more registrations than the available H-1B visas, USCIS:

USCIS randomly selects unique foreign nationals from the unselected registrations if additional H-1B cap-subject numbers are available after the initial registration period. USCIS may reopen the registration period when necessary, as when, for example, the number of registrations is insufficient to satisfy either the regular or master's caps. (8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(8)(iii).)

If selected, a petitioner has a filing period of at least 90 days to prepare and file the petition. USCIS specifies the dates during which the petitions may be filed. For more on the selection process, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Filing Cap-Subject Petitions: Registration and Revised Selection Procedures.

Before filing the H-1B petition, employers must obtain a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the DOL's Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System. For more information on LCA requirements, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Labor Condition Application.

For more information on preparing and submitting an H-1B petition, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Filing an H-1B Petition with USCIS.

Beginning with FY 2025 filings in April 2024, an employer may elect to file the H-1B petition online using its own or its legal counsel's myUSCIS account. When filing online, employers:

Furthermore, employers or their legal counsel submitting paper petitions one or after April 1, 2024 must file those petitions at the appropriate Lockbox instead of a USCIS service center (see USCIS: Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker).

For more information on online filing, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Organizational myUSCIS Accounts and Online Filing.

In addition, immigration filing fees for H-1B petitions (filed on Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) increase significantly on April 1, 2024, including for FY 2025 cap-based petitions. Lower fees are available for small employers and nonprofits. For more information, see Immigration Filing Fees Chart: USCIS Filing Fees.

If approved, the H-1B visa allows the foreign worker to be employed by the petitioning employer in the job described in the H-1B petition no earlier than October 1, 2024 (as requested in the petition) for up to three years, with the possibility for further extensions or amendments to the H-1B status (see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification: Validity Period of H-1B Approval).

For a collection of resources to help employers develop strategies for preparing and filing H-1B petitions for their foreign workers see The H-1B Visa Classification Toolkit.

Employers that are unable to file an H-1B petition, or are unsuccessful in obtaining H-1B status for their foreign workers, may need to explore alternative nonimmigrant visa status options. For more information on possible alternatives, see Employer Options When H-1B Visas Are Unavailable Checklist.

For information on preparing and filing H-1B petitions, see Practice Note, The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification.