Overcoming Hurdles: Navigating the FY 2024 H-1B Lottery's Technical Glitches and Low Selection Rates

H-1B Notices Sent Out:

Many people are either full of excitement, or terribly disappointed today. USCIS sent out notices for its first (and almost certainly largest) H-1B selection process of the year.

This marks a critical step for employers and foreign nationals seeking H-1B visas, which are commonly utilized for specialty occupations in the United States. Notably, reports indicate a selection rate of roughly 15%, encompassing both the regular and master's cap categories, underscoring the steep odds of the H-1B visa process​.

Today, April 1 (not an April Fools’ Day prank), USCIS finished notifying all prospective petitioners with selected registrations, enabling them to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the selected registration. The statuses updated in online accounts are either "Submitted," "Selected," "Denied" (for duplicate registrations for the same beneficiary), or "Invalidated-Failed Payment" if there were issues with payment. For those registrations that were selected, H-1B cap-subject petitions can be filed beginning today and ending June 30, 2024.

Keeping Hope Alive:

If your H-1B registration wasn't picked in the initial lottery round, don't lose hope just yet. There's still a window of opportunity for your application to be selected later on. This can happen if the total number of petitions received by USCIS doesn't hit the yearly limit. As long as there aren’t any other problems with your registration, it stays in the pool for potential selection throughout the fiscal year, so keep an eye out for future notifications and, if you are able, log into your USCIS account occasionally to make sure you haven’t missed an email.

Another Bumpy Road:

This year's selection process was not without its challenges. Many stakeholders reported encountering technical difficulties with USCIS's new registration website, which was launched just weeks before the lottery. Issues ranged from system errors to difficulty accessing pages, to unsigned G-28 “Notice of Entry of Appearance,” forms, adding a layer of complexity for those navigating the registration process. These technical hiccups have not helped increase confidence in the fairness of the program, which took a hit following last year's issues with multiple registrations, which some had attempted as a strategy to game the system. A major focus of USCIS's efforts this year was to clamp down on multiple registrations, however this focus may have led to the technical difficulties experienced by some. Although not everyone experienced these problems (BorderCall managed to avoid them), the reported issues may have detracted from what USCIS presumably hoped would be a confidence-boosting year for the H-1B lottery.

Closing Thoughts:

The recent selection process and its accompanying challenges highlight the challenges of the H-1B visa process and the critical role of technological reliability in managing such an impactful system. As businesses, individuals, and practitioners navigate the complexities of immigration law and policy, the need for a robust, reliable system becomes ever more apparent in ensuring fairness and efficiency in the visa selection process.

Questions or concerns about your H-1B selections (or lack thereof)? Please drop me a line and share your thoughts.