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Unlike case status updates, USCIS does not allow employees or beneficiaries to track their H-1B lottery registration or the lottery result.
An employee does NOT get a confirmation email or a tracking number from USCIS to confirm the registration.
REGISTERING FOR THE LOTTERY
What does the lottery registration process look like?
Your company's authorized point of contact will work with the immigration attorney to register you for the lottery by following these steps:
Step 1: Attorney registers the employer - The attorney logs into their account on my.uscis.gov and registers the company or the employer.
Step 2: Attorney registers the employee - Under the registered employer, the attorney can register employees or beneficiaries for the H-1B lottery.
Step 3: Attorney fills out the form G-28 - This step generates a one-time passcode for the employer.
Step 4: Employer uses the one-time passcode - This passcode helps to link the attorney to the employer. The employer can now check the information of all the registered employees and give confirmation to the attorney.
Step 5: Attorney pays the registration fee - Once attorney has the confirmation from the employer, they pay the fee and the registration is confirmed.
As an employee can I see if I have been registered?
Unfortunately, USCIS does not allow beneficiaries to access the registration portal.
How do I know if I have been registered?
As an employee you will not receive any alerts or emails from USCIS when you are registered. You can check with your company's authorized point of contact to get a confirmation that you have been registered.
Will I get an email confirming that I have been registered?
As mentioned above, as an employee you will not receive any emails from USCIS confirming your registration.
WayLit's clients' employees will receive confirmation emails and can track the status of their registration through their profile on WayLit's platform.
H-1B LOTTERY RESULT
USCIS rewards 85K H-1B visas every year. The lottery will be a completely random process in 2021 (for 2022 Fiscal year cap) where USCIS picks the name of beneficiaries and informs their employers and their attorneys.
What are my chances of getting selected?
Historically, the chance of getting picked is 1 in 3 or 33%. Individuals with a U.S. master’s degree have a slightly more chance.
When will I know about the lottery result?
USCIS announces the results on March 31, but we expect that the results will be flowing in until April 01. An email is sent to the employer only for those employees that have been selected. No alert is sent out for the employees that have not been selected.
My status says “Submitted”. What does this mean?
If your status is changed to submitted then this means that you were not picked in the lottery. Your registration, however, will still stay open until October 01 incase USCIS runs another lottery.
My status says “Selected”. What does this mean?
If your status is changed to “Selected” then this means that your employer can file the H-1B petition for your H-1B. Your employer will have 90 days from the decision date to file the H-1B petition.
Is there a chance that I might still be selected in the second lottery?
Yes, depending on how many petitions USCIS receives, the agency might run another lottery before October 01. If you are selected in the lottery the second time, your company's point of contact and the attorney will get an email and will have 90 days from the date of decision to file a H-1B petition.
Have more questions? Reach out to us at support@waylit.com and we'll be happy to help in anyway we can.
Content in this publication is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult a WayLit-affiliated attorney or another qualified professional.
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