USCIS announced that this year’s H-1B lottery will open on March 6, 2024 and remain open until March 22, 2024. Like previous years, the H-1B registration fee will be $10 per application. This will increase to $205 per application in next year’s lottery. USCIS has also announced new changes to this year’s lottery process, including:
- A beneficiary-centric selection process for H-1B registrations, where USCIS will select by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. This new process is designed to reduce the potential for gaming the system and make it more likely that each beneficiary would have the same chance of being selected, regardless of how many registrations are submitted on their behalf.
- Start date flexibility for certain H-1B cap-subject petitions, permitting filing with requested start dates that are after Oct. 1 of the relevant fiscal year, consistent with current USCIS policy.
- Integrity measures that codify USCIS’ ability to deny or revoke H-1B petitions where the underlying registration contained a false attestation or was otherwise invalid, and adding a provision that USCIS may deny or revoke the approval of an H-1B petition if it determines that the fee associated with the registration is declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid after submission.