Study in USA: Immigration policy is set to change the H1B visa lottery

As per the U.S. citizenship and immigration services, a record of H-1B registrations was set for FY 2024. Multiple entries from the same individuals for the H-1B visa were noted. As a result, the agency is likely to change its visa lottery process. For this reason, the USCIS can limit the lottery to unique beneficiaries based on the number of passports. 

The new change, if made, will not give an advantage to a student with multiple jobs offers over a student with one job offer. According to Kevin Minor of Fragomen, the H1-B lottery based on individuals will give an even playing field for everyone.

Reasons for the likely change in the U.S H1B visa lottery system

The main reason for the USCIS ‘attention to the change of the H1B visa lottery system is the increase in the number of applications.  780,884 H1B registrations were reported for FY 2024. It is a dramatic increase from the previous year’s HIB visa applications of 483,927. 

 USCIS points out two main reasons for the increase in the number of applications. They are:

• The unfair advantage gained by submitting multiple registrations on behalf of the same applicant
• A small number of companies specifically set up to enter the same amount of applicants in the U.S. visa lottery system. 

Solutions to meet the problem of multiple entries

In order to solve the problem of multiple entries in the H1B visa lottery system new solutions are looked forward to. According to the USCIS, they are working on an H1-B modernization rule that will propose the strengthening of the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H1B registration system.

In an Interview, Kevin Miner of Fragomen stated that the new changes will provide the same opportunities for selection to a worker with one job offer. After the worker has been selected he/she can choose between the 10 employers and file for an H1B petition for them. Hence, it is important that the rules mandate only one petition for the lottery selection.

Benefits to International Applicants

The increase in the H-1B registrations with a single employer is 66% between FY2022-FY2024. It shows that there is a demand for workers with technical skills in the U.S. economy.  The new changes if made can eventually result in equal opportunities of selection to all applicants.

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