USCIS Runs Second Lottery to Select More FY 2021 H-1B Cap Cases
August 14, 2020
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At a Glance
- Earlier today, employers began receiving USCIS notifications that additional H-1B cap registrations were selected in a second FY 2021 lottery.
- The additional selection is taking place because USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions during the initial 90-day filing period to meet the 85,000 quota for FY 2021.
- Employers whose cases are selected in the second drawing have until November 16, 2020 to file petitions for their newly-selected registrations.
The issue
USCIS today began notifying employers and their immigration counsel of the results of a second selection lottery for the FY 2021 H-1B cap. Employers whose H-1B registrations are selected in the second drawing will have from August 17 to November 16, 2020, to submit their petitions.
The second lottery is being conducted because the FY 2021 H-1B quota of 85,000 has not been reached. USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions to meet the quota during the initial filing period, which ran from April 1 to June 30, 2020.
It is not yet known how many additional registrations are being selected in the second drawing. USCIS is expected to issue an official announcement of second lottery, which could disclose the number of H-1B quota slots that remain available.
Employers are not required to take any action to be included in the second lottery. USCIS is selecting from among the thousands of H-1B registrations that were filed during the March 2020 registration period but not selected in the initial lottery.
How to determine whether a case has been selected
An employer whose registration is newly selected will receive a USCIS email indicating that action has been taken on its case. The employer or its immigration counsel must log into the H-1B cap registration system and print out a selection notice for the case. The notice will inform the employer of the filing deadline and the specific USCIS filing location. The notice must be included when the employer files a complete H-1B cap petition for the registration.
Fragomen is closely monitoring the new FY 2021 cap selection and will provide updates as more information becomes available.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.
