On March 27, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced they had received enough initial electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2024 (“FY24”) H-1B cap, including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). Consequently, the Service has notified all prospective petitioners whose registrations were randomly selected that they are eligible to file cap-subject H-1B petitions for the named beneficiary in the selected registration.

The online accounts of registrants will now display one of the following annotations for each registration:

Submitted – A registration was submitted and is eligible for selection. The registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, after the initial selection process has been completed, and remains valid for any subsequent selections for the fiscal year.
Selected – Registration was selected to file a cap-subject H-1B petition for FY24.
Denied – Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same beneficiary for FY24 are invalid.
Invalidated-Failed Payment – A registration was submitted, but the payment method used was declined, disputed, cancelled, or rejected after submission.

Beginning April 1, 2023, those with selected registrations will be given at least 90 days to file their H-1B cap-subject petition for FY2024. USCIS emphasizes that petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper, there is no online filing available for H-1B petitions. Additionally, the Service will not use any pre-paid mailers to send out any communication to the registrants. Due to increased filing volumes and recognizing possible delays with the issuance of Form I-797 Receipt Notices for timely and properly filed H-1B petitions, USCIS notes that petitioners may use confirmations from the delivery service used to mail in their petitions as evidence of filing. Should more than thirty days pass after confirmation of delivery and the petitioner has not received Form I-797, the petitioner may then contact USCIS for assistance. We will continue to update you on the FY2024 H-1B Cap as we receive updates from the Service.

UPDATE August 1, 2023: USCIS has completed its second random selection from previously submitted registrations for FY 2024 H-1B Cap. All prospective petitioners have been notified by the Service via myUSCIS accounts “that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.” USCIS notes the filing period for H-1B cap-subject petitions will be at least ninety days. Because online filing is not available for H-1B petitions, petitioners must file by paper.

UPDATE July 28, 2023: USCIS reported they will be conducting a second random selection from previously submitted FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registrations. Although a specific date for the selection was not announced, the Service noted it would be “soon”. An announcement upon competition of the second random selection and notifications to all prospective petitioners who will be eligible to file H-1B cap subject petitions are sent out will be forthcoming. Registrants will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include the selection notice which will detail when and where to file their petitions for FY2024.