US Unveils Second Round of Lottery for H-1B Visa Applications

July 31 :
U.S. officials have announced a second round of lottery selection for H-1B visas. For fiscal year 2025, they need to reach the standard 65,000 ceiling allocation, hence they made this decision. If you were not lucky enough to be chosen in the first lottery that took place in March 2024, now is your second chance. Nevertheless, the USCIS has made it clear that the selection process for the FY 2025 cap season would be conducted from the pool of registrations that have already been filed, and that no more registrations will be required.

Furthermore, the USCIS announced that they "will not be conducting a second selection for the advanced degree exemption (the master's cap)" because they have already selected enough master's cap registrations and received enough petitions based on those registrations to meet the numerical allocation for the master's cap in FY 2025.

You will be informed of your ability to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary indicated in your registration if you are selected in this round of prospective petitioners. Selected petitioners will be notified by the USCIS once the second selection procedure is announced.
An update, including a selection notice outlining the filing process, will be sent to those selected through their USCIS online accounts.