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USCIS Reaches H-1B Visa Cap for 2024

  • 06 Dec 2024 02:23 AM
  • H1Bvisa, USCIS, H1Blottery, H1Bcap2024, H1Bresults

 The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received enough H-1B visa petitions to meet the annual cap. The cap includes 65,000 visas for regular applicants and an additional 20,000 for individuals holding US advanced degrees. With the lottery system in place for processing petitions once the cap is exceeded, many applicants will be notified if they were not selected.

USCIS will send out non-selection notices through online accounts, with the status updated to "Not Selected - not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration." While petitions for individuals who are not selected in the lottery will be rejected, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the cap, including those to extend the stay of current H-1B workers, change employment terms, or allow H-1B workers to switch employers or work additional positions.

The deadline to submit H-1B cap petitions was June 30, 2024. However, since the deadline fell on a Sunday, USCIS will also consider petitions submitted by July 1, 2024, as on time.

USCIS advises applicants to keep track of notifications to ensure they meet all deadlines and stay informed about their status. While most H-1B visa holders are from India (72.3% of the total 386,000 visas issued), there has been a decline in sponsorships from major companies such as Google, Amazon, Infosys, and IBM.

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