U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted an initial random selection for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap in March 2021, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS used historical data to estimate the number of registration selections required to meet the annual quota of approximately 85,000 H-1B visas under the regular cap and 20,000 H-1B visas under the advanced degree or “U.S. master’s” cap. Accordingly, out of the 308,613 registrations submitted for the FY 2022 cap lottery, USCIS made 87,500 selections.
USCIS recently determined that it would need to make additional registration selections to reach the FY 2022 numerical allocations. On July 28, 2021, USCIS made additional selections from the previously submitted pool of electronic registrations using a random selection process. The agency notified registrants that they may now move forward with the filing of an H-1B visa petition under the FY 2022 cap. According to USCIS, the petition filing period for registrations selected on July 28 will begin on August 2, 2021, and will close on November 3, 2021. USCIS has updated registrant employers and their representatives’ myUSCIS accounts to include a selection notice and details on when and where to file.
