Only electronic registrations submitted during the March 2024 registration window for FY 2025 are eligible for the second selection round, confirmed by USCIS. However, this round will not include the advanced degree exemption, or “master’s cap,” as sufficient petitions were already received to meet the FY 2025 allocation.
The second selection will consider registrations indicating eligibility for both the master’s cap and the regular H-1B cap. USCIS will announce when the selections are finalized, and the results will be accessible in the corresponding USCIS accounts.
The annual H-1B cap limits new visas to 85,000 per fiscal year. When more registrations are received than visas available, USCIS conducts a randomized lottery. Beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or higher can qualify for an advanced degree exemption, initially set at 20,000. After this allocation is met, USCIS moves to a random selection from the remaining pool of regular cap and master’s cap eligible beneficiaries.
During the initial FY 2025 registration period, USCIS received 470,342 eligible registrations and selected 120,603. After the initial filing period closed on June 30, 2024, USCIS announced on July 30 that a second selection round would take place for unique beneficiaries. This second round will focus on the regular cap, including those eligible for the master’s cap. Notifications of selected registrations will be made available in USCIS accounts, and petitioners will have at least ninety days to file their H-1B petitions.
Key points include another opportunity for employers and beneficiaries not selected in the first round to secure an H-1B visa this fiscal year. Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will keep monitoring and updating on their Immigration blog as new information emerges.
