In March 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted the initial lottery round for the electronic H-1B registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap. The petition filing period for the selected registrations was from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021. USCIS uses historical data related to H-1B petition approvals, denials and revocations to determine the number of registrations needed to meet the H-1B cap for a given fiscal year. At the end of July, based on the number of H-1B petitions receipted during the filing period, the agency decided that an additional round of registration selections was needed to reach the FY 2022 H-1B visa allocation under the cap. On July 28th, the second selection round was conducted for the previously submitted electronic registrations using the lottery based on the same principles as the initial selection that took place in March. Newly selected registrants have been notified, and the filing period based on registrations selected on July 28th began on August 2nd and will close on November 3rd. Individuals with selected registrations are having their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice with instructions for newly selected petitions submission.
Importantly, H-1B cap-subject petitions are accepted solely at the service center and within the filing period listed on the registration selection notice. All filings must be made in hardcopy and include the registration notice with the unique registration number. Lottery selection for petition filing does not guarantee approval and every petition package should include the required evidence and establish eligibility for petition approval based on regulatory requirements.