USCIS Runs Second Lottery Selecting More FY 2022 H-1B Cap Cases

Summary

• Earlier today, employers began receiving USCIS notifications that additional H-1B cap registrations were selected in a second FY 2022 cap lottery draw.
• The additional selection is taking place because USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions during the initial 90-day filing period to meet the 85,000 quota for FY 2022.
• Employers whose cases are selected in the second drawing have from August 2, 2021 to November 3, 2021 to file petitions for their newly-selected registrations.

H-1B 2nd Lottery Selection for FY 2022

USCIS today began notifying employers and their immigration counsel of the results of a second selection lottery for the FY 2022 H-1B cap. Employers whose H-1B registrations are selected in the second drawing will have from August 2, 2021, to November 3, 2021 to submit their petitions.

The second lottery is being conducted because the FY 2022 H-1B quota of 85,000 has not been reached. USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions to meet the quota during the initial filing period, which ran from April 1 to June 30, 2021.  In the initial FY 2022 lottery, USCIS drew just 87,500 of 308,613 registrations to meet the 85,000 quota, or 28% of the total number of registrations.  This was far lower than in 2020, when 124,415 registrations – or 45% – were selected from 274,237 FY 2021 H-1B cap registrations received. It is not known how many additional registrations are being selected in the second drawing. 

Employers are not required to take any action to be included in the second lottery. USCIS is selecting from among the thousands of H-1B registrations that were filed during the March 2021 registration period but not chosen in the initial lottery drawing.

How to determine whether a case has been selected in the second drawing

An employer whose registration is newly selected will receive a USCIS email indicating that action has been taken on its case. The employer or its immigration counsel must log into the H-1B cap registration system and print out a selection notice for the case. The notice will inform the employer of the filing deadline and the specific USCIS filing location. The notice must be included when the employer files a complete H-1B cap petition for the registration.