Overview
The H-1B classification allows foreign nationals to accept professional assignment with U.S. employers after the employer has obtained an approved labor condition application from the Department of Labor. The H-1B visa category is reserved for employers who look to hire a foreign national possessing at minimum a baccalaureate degree to fill a specialty occupation position within the company. The petitioning employer is the holder of the H-1B. The employee is the beneficiary. The H-1B duration is 3 years at a time, for a total of 6 years.
First step, lottery
Provided the employee does not currently have and has never previously held H-1B status, the employer must go through the H-1B lottery. There is an annual numerical limitation of 65,000 for H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign nationals holding U.S. advanced degrees. Advanced degrees get ‘priority,’ in that they are first selected out of the 65,000 and then again out of the 20,000 reserved for them. This year’s H-1B lottery registration will open on March 7, 2025 and run through March 24, 2025. The registration fees are is $215 USCIS fee. The $215 is a one time fee to USCIS to register the employer and employee.
USCIS will hold the lottery of the registered cases in the first week of April 2025. If the case is not selected, there is nothing further we can do until this time next year.
Second step, if selected in the lottery
If selected, you will have 90 days to file the H-1B petition with USCIS. The fees to file a selected case are: USCIS fees $780 (I-129 fee), $500 (anti-fraud), $1,500 (employer w/ more than 25 employees), and $600 (fee to fund the asylum program). The USCIS fees for employer with less than 25 employees are $300, $500, $460, and $750. If the case is approved, the H-1B automatically begins at the beginning of the federal fiscal year on October 1, 2025.
Here is a link to USCIS’s website for the lottery registration: H-1B registration process
Here is a link to the USCIS H-1B fees: H-1B fees
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