U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Announces Second Selection for H-1B Regular Cap

On Tuesday, July 30, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the agency will select additional electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B regular cap.

H-1B Specialty Occupations: The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent. H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts.

H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions: The H-1B nonimmigrant classification has a congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year (commonly known as the “regular cap”) plus the advanced degree exemption. The advanced degree exemption includes an additional 20,000 visas set aside for employees with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution of higher education (commonly known as the “master’s cap”).

H-1B Electronic Registration and Selection Process: Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions must first electronically register and pay the associated H-1B registration fee for each prospective employee. The H-1B random selection process is then run on properly submitted electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

FY 2025 H-1B Cap Initial Selection: In March, USCIS conducted their initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. Employers with selected registrations were eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions during the initial filing period (April 1 – June 30, 2024).

FY 2025 H-1B Regular Cap Second Selection: USCIS recently determined that they would need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2025 regular cap numerical allocation. In the coming weeks, USCIS will select additional electronic registrations previously submitted using a random selection process. USCIS will notify employers with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the named employee.

USCIS will not be conducting a second selection for the master’s cap, as enough master’s cap registrations were already selected, and sufficient petitions were received to meet the FY 2025 master’s cap numerical allocation. The second selection for the regular cap will include previously submitted electronic registrations that indicated eligibility for both the master’s cap and the regular cap. Those with selected registrations will have their USCIS online accounts updated to include a selection notice, which will include details of when and where to file.

If you have questions about the second selection for the H-1B regular cap, or if you have questions about working in the United States, please reach out to our Immigration Practice Group.

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