The annual H-1B visa quota of 85,000 for the next fiscal year has been met.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Aug. 23 that it has received enough petitions to fulfill the 65,000 H-1B visa cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa advanced degree cap for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which begins Oct. 1.
In March, employers submitted 483,927 registrations for the FY 2023 quota. USCIS selected 127,600 of these registrations—about 26 percent—to meet the quota. The agency typically selects more petitions than are needed to meet the quota to account for employers that don't follow through on the petition process, as well as cases that are denied, rejected or withdrawn.
"USCIS has been sending nonselection notices to registrants' online accounts," said Amy Peck, an attorney in the Omaha, Neb., office of Jackson Lewis. "USCIS can only send nonselection notices once it has determined that enough petitions have been received. Properly submitted registrations that did not make it will show as 'Not Selected' in their accounts. Others may still show as 'Submitted' but it is likely that those too will start to show as 'Not Selected' in the days to come as the agency completes its process."
USCIS will continue to accept petitions for employment that are not subject to the annual cap, including extensions of stay, changes of employer, amended petitions and employment that is exempt from the annual quota.
Employers can reregister foreign workers who were not selected for an H-1B visa when the FY 2024 cap season begins in Spring 2023.