U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A statutory cap limits the number of new H-1B petitions that may be approved in a fiscal year to 85,000 (of which 20,000 are reserved for foreign nationals who have obtained an advanced degree from a U.S. college or university, known as the master’s cap). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 23, 2022, that it has received sufficient petitions to reach the congressionally mandated limit.
USCIS has sent non-selection notifications to the online accounts of those registrants who were not selected in the lottery. The status for registrations properly submitted but not selected will now show:
- Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.
The team at Garfinkel Immigration is currently in the process of notifying clients whose registrations were not selected in the FY 2023 H-1B lottery.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the statutory cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2023 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
- Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
- Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
- Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
- Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions.
For a discussion on alternatives to H-1B cap-subject petitions, please view Partner Meredith Barnette’s white paper and/or contact the Garfinkel Immigration attorneys.