Good news for IT professionals, US will conduct rare second lottery for H-1B visa applicants
H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa with which foreign workers in the US can be employed in specialty occupations that require expertise
The US immigration agency has decided to conduct a rare second lottery for H-1B visas for applicants who could not make it in the first random selection. H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa through which foreign workers in the US can be employed in specialty occupations that require expertise both theoretical and technical. This visa is the most after among the IT professionals from India.
The computerised draw of lots for H-1B visas conducted in early 2021 did not provide enough numbers of the Congressional mandated H-1B visas. The USCIS’ decision comes under the light of that.
Congress mandates an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year for H-1B visas. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the cap.
Technology companies depend on this visa to hire a large number of employees each year from countries like India and China.
USCIS’ move to conduct the second lottery will provide another chance to several applicants, including hundreds of Indian IT professionals, who could not make it in the first random selection.
Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2022 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, the federal agency pointed out.
The USCIS said an H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed at the correct service centre and within the filing period indicated on the relevant registration selection notice.
H-1B petitions cannot be filed online. Petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper and must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2022 H-1B cap-subject petition.
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