USCIS Completes Selections for 2021 H-1B Lottery

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed this year’s initial H-1B lottery. Applicants who were selected in the lottery have been notified. The application period will run from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021.

Initial reports indicate an acceptance/selection rate of approximately 25%. This is substantially lower than prior years. USCIS has not yet reported the total number of applications submitted nor released a breakdown of regular cap and Master’s cap applicants.

USCIS has indicated that they may select additional registrants in the future if they approve fewer H-1B applications than anticipated. Registrants who were not selected during the initial lottery will remain eligible for selection until both the 65,000 regular H-1B cap and 20,000 advanced degree exception cap have been reached. Last year, USCIS selected additional registrants in August, but it is too soon to predict whether this will happen again this year.

If you would like to discuss alternatives to the H-1B visa, please let us know.