H-1B Registration closed on March 24, 2025. USCIS notified all selected registrants and their representatives by March 31, 2025, through their USCIS accounts. If your registration status changes to selected, then you are eligible to file your H-1B visa. If your registration status remains as submitted, you have not been selected and may not file an H-1B visa, although your registration remains eligible should USCIS make a second selection later this year.
If you were not selected, there may be other pathways for you to obtain an H-1B. Below are three possible avenues that may be useful for you.
Option 1: Check Whether You are a Cap-Exempt Employee
- You may be exempted from the cap if:
- You were previously counted in the cap in the past six years
- You’re from Singapore or Chile and applying for H-1B1 status
- You’re engaged in H-1B eligible employment performed in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or Guam
Option 2: Work for a Cap-Exempt H-1B Employer
- Some employers can file H-1B visas at any time throughout the year and are not subject to the cap
- These include institutions of higher education, non-profit entities related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, non-profit research organizations, and governmental research organizations
Option 3: Investigate Concurrent H-1B Filing
- It may be possible for you to work for two employers simultaneously
- If Employer A is cap-exempt, you may be eligible to file an H-1B through them, then apply for a second H-1B for Employer B, a cap-subject employer, without being selected in the lottery
- You must be able to perform all the required duties for both positions
- Be sure to check with an immigration attorney to discuss this plan in detail as concurrent H-1B filing can be complex
If you were not selected in the H-1B lottery this year, don’t give up. Please reach out to us to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We will help you determine your eligibility for one of the options listed above or another work visa in the United States.