Submissions for individual employees for the annual H-1B visa lottery experienced a notable decline following updates by the federal government to the selection process for these specialized occupation visas this year. USCIS reports a significant decrease in total registrations during the FY2025 H-1B cap registration period compared to FY2024. Moreover, eligible registrations for the FY2025 visa lottery dropped by nearly 39% from the preceding year.

The revised USCIS regulations now prioritize lottery selections based on each individual beneficiary, rather than the number of registrations submitted on their behalf. In FY2025, only employers with selected registrations are permitted to file H-1B visa petitions. USCIS noted a significant rise in duplicate submissions last year, indicating some companies’ efforts to file multiple registrations for single workers. However, beneficiaries may have multiple registrations submitted on their behalf by employers, provided they are backed by genuine job offers.

The modernized system enhances an employer’s likelihood of securing one of the 85,000 new slots annually available for H-1B visas. This year, approximately 47,000 eligible registrations were submitted for foreign workers, with multiple registrations filed on their behalf, contrasting sharply with over 408,000 in 2023. Nevertheless, the number of unique beneficiaries and employers participating in the lottery this year remained about the same as last year.

If you have any questions about H-1B visas or any other U.S. immigration-related issue, please contact us. We work with our clients every step of the way.