Jan 27, 2023
Attorney Kimberly Bennett of Jackson Lewis details the upcoming H-1B Visa Lottery deadline. H-1B Visas for “specialty occupation positions” or professional positions requiring a bachelor’s degree. They are employer, location and job specific.
Kimberly details how there is an annual quota for new H-1B visas – 85,000, including 20,000 reserved for individuals with US Master’s degrees
Because there are a limited number available each year, USCIS holds an annual lottery:
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- The Lottery is a two-stage process – application and selection
- Application – Electronic application period, only open for two weeks in March
- Selection – Selections occur between April and September, until all 85,000 visas are allocated.
Certain Employers are Exempt from the annual H-1B Lottery – exempt from the annual “H-1B CAP," includes:
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- Institutions of Higher Education (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))
- Non-Profit Research organizations
- Non-Profit organizations affiliated with an institution of higher education
- Government research organizations
- Employers who are employing staff working at one of the qualifying organizations above
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Now is the time to prepare for the H-1B lottery. If you miss this year’s lottery, you will not be able to try again until March 2024.