The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule in the Federal Register today, detailing changes to the H-1B lottery system meant to improve its fairness and integrity. Per the new rule, a foreign national will be limited to one entry in the lottery system, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf. As before, multiple employers may submit registrations for the same individual; however, that will not increase the chances of selection as they are limited to only one slot in the lottery. If selected, all registrants will be notified of the selection. Therefore, if a candidate has multiple registrations and is selected, each and every registrant employer will be able to file a petition on their behalf. This change is meant to remove the incentive to game the system by filing multiple registrations by multiple employers to increase the chances of selection, therefore leveling the playing field.
The registration period for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap season will open on March 6, 2024 and end on March 22, 2024. All cap registrations must be submitted online during this period. Prospective employers or their representatives must use a myUSCIS online account to register each candidate for the selection process and pay a $10 registration fee for each candidate’s registration. Although the registration fee remains $10 for this cap season, it will increase to $215 for the FY2026 cap season per DHS’ new fee schedule that will go into effect on April 1, 2024.