FY 2023 H-1B Initial Selection Process Completed

Today USCIS announced that it has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap. A random selection (lottery) was conducted from the registrations properly submitted from March 1, 2022 through March 18, 2022 . H-1B petitions may be filed for selected registrations starting April 1, 2022.

WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN EXPECT

USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the selected registration. Registrants’ online accounts will now be updated to show one of the following statuses for each beneficiary registered:

• Submitted: A registration status may continue to show “Submitted” after the initial selection process. These registrations will remain in consideration for selection until the end of the fiscal year, at which point all registration statuses will either be Selected, Not Selected, or Denied. If petitions are not filed for selected beneficiaries with the designated 90-day filing window, USCIS may conduct another lottery from the reserve “submitted’ registrations until the FY 2023 cap is reached. This was the case last year, when numerous “submitted” registrations were later selected for a second and third round of filings, after the initial 90-day filing period concluded.
• Selected: Indicates that the employer may file an FY 2023 H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary in the designated 90-day filing period.
• Denied: A duplicate registration was submitted by the same registrant for the same beneficiary; all registrations submitted for this beneficiary for FY 2023 are invalid. There are reports that USCIS has erroneously denied some registrations as duplicate submissions. If you receive such a denial, closely check your submission records to verify whether there were, in fact, duplicate submissions.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration payment method was declined and not reconciled, invalidating the registration.

Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2023 and only for the beneficiary in the applicable selected registration notice. Employers have a 90-day window during which to file the complete H-1B petition, commencing April 1, 2022. All petitions must be filed with the correct USCIS service center and within the filing period indicated on the selection notice.

Gibney will continue to monitor the FY 2023 H-1B cap process and provide updates, and will work with employers to file H-1B petitions for selected beneficiaries during the designated filing window. For additional information, please contact your Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.