From March 9-25, 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allowed prospective H-1B petitioners (employers) to register H-1B beneficiaries for the H-1B cap in fiscal year (FY) 2022. The H-1B cap is the annual numerical limit on new H-1B petitions, comprised of 65,000 unrestricted visas plus another 20,000 that are restricted to individuals with graduate degrees from accredited, non-profit U.S. schools. Historically, there have been as many as 200,000 or more individuals vying for the 85,000 H-1B visas, necessitating a random lottery. This year was the second year that an electronic pre-registration process was used to participate in the lottery. 

On Friday, March 26, 2021, USCIS began selecting the first round of registrations. However, the selection process appears to be ongoing. Last year, USCIS made a public statement once the selection process was completed; no such statement has yet been issued for the FY2022 H-1B lottery.  

T&S is closely monitoring the situation and will update all clients with additional information as it becomes available.