By Melany Savitt, Melina LaMorticella, Turid Owren, and Alan Perkins
Now is the time for employers to review H-1B needs for the FY2025 cap season. Feel free to contact us, and we will help you evaluate who is a good candidate for this classification.
Registrations will be submitted electronically to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in March 2024. We expect USCIS to designate the specific two-week registration period soon. USCIS previously charged a $10 fee per registration and is expected to increase the fee this year.
Registration Details
Registration requires basic employer and foreign national data including whether the foreign national holds a U.S. advanced degree. Only one registration per employer/individual beneficiary combination is permitted. After registration closes, USCIS conducts a random lottery selection. Employers can prepare and file H-1B petitions only for registrations selected in the lottery.
Post-Registration Period
The lottery is typically held immediately prior to April 1, allowing employers to begin filing H-1B petitions on that date. If selected in the lottery, employers will have 90 days to file an H-1B petition.
Additional wait list registration selections may occur until the quota is reached for the fiscal year. These additional selections are announced if and when they are made.
Next Steps
We recommend employers review hiring needs as soon as possible to determine if new H-1B petitions will need to be filed under the FY2025 cap quota for employment start dates no earlier than October 1, 2024. We recommend considering the following:
- Foreign national F-1 and J-1 students, TN USMCA professionals, L-1B specialized knowledge transferees, E-3 Australian specialty occupation professionals, and individuals with certain types of employment authorization documents (EADs)
- Prospective employees outside the United States with no other option for U.S. work authorization
Additional H-1B Cap Details
All “new” H-1B petitions are subject to an annual quota, or cap of 65,000 regular H-1B visas, and an additional 20,000 H-1B visas reserved for holders of advanced degrees (master’s or higher) from accredited U.S. universities. New cap H-1B petitions are generally required for individuals previously not counted against the cap (with limited exceptions).
New cap H-1B petitions are not required for H-1B extensions and most H-1B changes of employer.
This client alert is prepared for the general information of our clients and friends. It should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this update, or for more information about this topic, please contact any of the attorneys in our Immigration Practice Group, or the attorney with whom you normally consult.
