U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 1, 2023, and run through noon ET on March 17, 2023. Once the registration period has closed, USCIS will apply random numeric selection processes (“lotteries”) to select registrations, first under the Regular H-1B Cap and then under the U.S. master’s Cap. USCIS anticipates notifying those selected by March 31, 2021. Petitioners with selected registrations may proceed with filing H-1B petitions during the designated filing period, April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023. USCIS has not announced yet if Premium Processing will be available for new H-1B cap filings; however, Premium Processing has been discontinued for cap petitions in recent years.   

Properly submitted registrations that are not selected in the initial lottery rounds will remain in the system as valid registrations with their statuses designated as “Submitted” for the remainder of the fiscal year. These remaining submissions will be available for selection in the future if the current fiscal year cap reopens.  The cap could reopen if a high number of registrations do not result in actual filings with USCIS during the 90-day filing window or if H-1B petitions are denied.  

Foster will continue to monitor updates regarding the FY 2024 H-1B cap filing season and will make future updates available as appropriate via our firm website at www.fosterglobal.com.