On March 30, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had completed the initial H-1B regular cap and master’s cap selection process for fiscal year (FY) 2022. This is the second year that USCIS has used an electronic preregistration system to conduct the random selection lottery. According to the agency’s press release, USCIS has sent notifications to registrant employers and their representatives about selection results. If USCIS selects a registered beneficiary in the lottery, a petitioner may submit a complete H-1B petition for adjudication by USCIS for the specific beneficiary who is named on the registration selection notice.
USCIS stated that each registered beneficiary’s myUSCIS.gov registrant account has been updated to show one of the following statuses:
- Selected: If the beneficiary’s registration status shows as “selected,” the registrant employer may file a complete H-1B petition for that beneficiary.
- Submitted: Registrations that show a “submitted” status remain in consideration for selection in the H-1B cap lottery until the fiscal year has ended or until subsequently invalidated.
- Denied: A “denied” status signifies that the registrant submitted more than one registration for a particular beneficiary. In this circumstance, USCIS invalidates each registration submitted by the registrant for that beneficiary for the fiscal year.
- Invalidated-Failed Payment: If there was an issue with the payment for a submitted registration and “the payment method was declined, not reconciled, or otherwise invalid,” the registration will be shown as an “invalidated-failed payment.”
For FY 2022, USCIS-confirmed registrants will have at least a 90-day window, beginning April 1, 2021, in which to file full H-1B petitions for registered beneficiaries selected in the lottery.
Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments with respect to the H-1B registration process and will post updates on the firm’s Immigration blog as additional information becomes available. Important information for employers is also available via the firm’s webinar and podcast programs.
