CALL US: +44 (0)20 8004 3492

H1B Application Deadline 2024

When is the H1B application deadline?

Companies planning to employ foreign workers under the H1B visa category are required to follow a strict application process that involves multiple stages and strict deadlines.

 

H1B registration deadline 2024

For the financial year 2025, the H1B cap registration window will open at noon Eastern Time on March 6, 2024 and close noon Eastern Time, March 25, 2024. The closing deadline had initially been set at March 22, but has been extended to March 25, 2024. USCIS announced the extension to allow extra time time for electronic registrations following temporary system outages experienced by some H1B registrants. 

USCIS has advised it will advise of successful registrations on March 31, 2024.

If the number of registrations received during this H1B registration period exceeds the H1B cap limit, as is typically the case each year, a lottery selection process will be used to select registrations at random. Note that there is no advantage conferred in submitting on the early in the registration; the lottery is random.

Registrants that are selected in the lottery will then be notified.

Filing for H-1B cap petitions and supporting documentation will open on April 1, 2024. H1B petitions should then be filed within 90 days of the selection notification being received. This means that typically, the H1B application deadline will be June 30.

Further registration notifications may be issued after this date should visas become available, as was the case in last year’s H1B process.

 

H1B electronic registration process

The H1B electronic registration system requires sponsors to make an initial registration for each H1B visa applicant they intend to sponsor. Registrations can only be made during the specified H1B registration period, which in 2024 is between March 6 and March 25.

Following publication of a Final Rule published January 30, 2024, the H-1B registration process is being amended by assigning each registered beneficiary one unique identification number. The aim is to make the H1B lottery “beneficiary-centric” so as to reduce the potential for fraud and ensure each beneficiary has the same chance of being selected, regardless of how many registrations are filed on their behalf.

As such, to register, registrants are now required to provide valid passport information or valid travel document information for each beneficiary. These must be the documents the beneficiary intends to use when traveling to the US.

A new, online “organizational account” system is also going live on February 28, 2024 ahead of this March’s H-1B registration process. Organizational accounts will allow petitioning employers and legal representatives to create, review, and submit H-1B lottery registrations, H-1B petitions, and premium processing forms, entirely online.

Each registrant must have a myUSICS account.

 

When can you submit H1B applications?

H-1B petitions for the 2025 fiscal year will be accepted from those whose have been successful in the lottery from April 1, 2024.

Applications for the H1B visa can only be made by registrants who have been selected in the initial registration process.

Selection in the registration stage does not guarantee a visa will be granted. It merely takes the application to the next stage.

The H1B petition must be prepared well and in accordance with the procedural changes announced in January 2024. A new version of Form I-129 with the H-1B Registration final rule and Fee Schedule final rule changes is being rolled out and from April 1m 2024, only the new version of Form I-129 will be accepted.

Errors or omissions may result in a refused petition, and the applicant missing out on this year’s allocation and having to wait for the next year to resubmit.

 

What is the H-1B visa cap?

For the fiscal year 2025, the H1B cap totals 85,000 petitions. USCIS will first randomly select

Thereafter, USCIS will randomly select 65,000 H1B petitions, of which 6,800 are reserved for citizens of Singapore and Chile, and in a second lottery, a further 20,000 will be selected from holders of US advanced degrees.

Cap-limited H1B visas will have a start date of October 1, 2024. However, USCIS has advised that requirements are to be clarified in relation to the requested employment start date on certain petitions with start dates that are after October 1 of the relevant fiscal year.

 

H1b visa cap exemptions

There are circumstances where you may be exempt from the annual cap:

  • You may qualify for the Master’s cap if you received your degree from a US-based institution that is public or non-profit in nature and has been recognized by a national accrediting agency as being accredited.
  • If you have been counted against the cap in prior years and haven’t reached the maximum 6-year limit then you may qualify for an exemption.
  • Existing H1B visa holders who are seeking to transfer to another company are not subject to the cap.
  • If the petition is filed by a non-profit organization or institute of higher learning.

 

How much does the H1B visa application cost?

There are a number of fees due as part of the H1B application, some of which are increasing following implementation of USCIS’s Fee Schedule final rule. Since the rule will be effective after the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap, the registration fee is to remain $10 for this year’s registrations.

At the time of writing, the fees are as follows:

  • Base filing fee: $460 per petition
  • Electronic filing fee: $10 per petition
  • AICWA fee: $750 for employers with 1 to 25 full time employees; $1,500 for employers with 26 or more full time equivalent employees
  • Fraud prevent & detection fee: $500 – only applies to new H1Bs and change of employers petitions
  • Fee based on Public Law 114-113: $4000 – applicable, if 50 or more employees and more than 50% of employees are on H1B or L1 Visa status, required for new H-1B filing and change of employers.
  • Premium processing fee (optional) – $2500 – for faster adjudication within 15 calendar days.

 

Under the Final Rule, increased fees will be effective from April 1, 2024:

  • I-129 H-1B: $780 – up from $460
  • H-1B Registration Fee: $215 – up from $10
  • Premium Processing: $2800 – up from $2500 – effective for petitions filed on or after February 26, 2024

 

Note however that H1B filing fees must be paid by the petitioning employer – and not the beneficiary. Penalties can ensure where an employer has not fulfilled this requirement, including revocation of the H1B visa.

This does not apply to the premium processing fee, under certain conditions.

You should also factor in legal advice from an immigration attorney.

 

What is the H1B visa?

The H1B visa is a nonimmigrant visa for non-USworkers with specialty skills who typically hold an advanced degree.

Qualifying positions in specialty occupations include roles (among many others) in:

  • Architecture
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Accounting
  • Data communications

With new roles and areas of expertise emerging, it is recommended to take advice on whether your position may be eligible as a specialty occupation for the purposes of the H1B.

Each H1B visa applicant must be ‘sponsored’ by a US employer – the petitioner – that holds an approved Labor Condition Application.

The employer has to prove a need for a specialty worker as the minimum requirement for taking up the job on offer.

The H1B visa is valid for three years and may be extended for another three years. The employer may later sponsor the H1B holder for a green card.

The H1B visa category remains notoriously over-subscribed and competitive. Even where the registration is selected in the initial round, this is no guarantee the visa will be secured. For prospective H1B employers and employees alike, this means applications require planning and preparation to meet the required criteria and collate the documentary support, ensuring the petition is filed on time and ahead of the H1B filing deadline.

 

Tips for making an H1B application

Read our full guide to optimizing your prospects of success in the H1B application process here. In summary, you should:

Get your submission right

Once you’ve completed the submission, check and check again! Include all the information that’s requested including evidence that the employer can pay the required salary. Missing information or forgetting to sign a section can result in issues with your application.

 

Avoid duplication

Employers can’t increase their chances of being selected by submitting duplicate petitions for the same individual. Duplicate petitions filed by an employer for one individual will be refused. Individuals, however, are permitted to submit multiple applications in respect of multiple employers. This includes where the individual intends to work part-time.

 

Meet the application criteria

Ensure you meet the eligibility requirements, and have sufficient evidence to prove your suitability. Individuals are required to hold a degree, and this must relate in some logical sense to the specialty position(s) being applied for.

 

Be ready to push the button on the day the H1B window opens in April

Submitting the petition early means if there are issues or questions, there should be time to address the queries. This means preparing your application thoroughly and in good time. Avoid the rush of completing forms and compiling supporting evidence. The annual window opens in the of April, typically April 1st if this is a business day. Double-check the opening date for the year you are applying.

 

Have a ‘plan B’

Do you qualify for the cap exempt H1B? What are the alternative work visa options in the event you are not able to secure an H1B this year?

 

NNU Immigration can help

NNU Immigration are specialist US immigration attorneys. We work with employers and individuals seeking to secure a visa to work in the USA, including the H-1B visa route. We can advise on all aspects of the eligibility requirements and can guide applicants through the petitioning process, including advice on the H-1B filing deadline and meeting the strict timescales.

If you have a question about the H-1B visa, speak to our experts.

This article does not constitute direct legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

By Nita Nicole Upadhye

Nita Nicole Upadhye is the Founder & Principal Attorney at NNU Immigration. A recognized leader in the field of US business immigration law, Nita successfully acts for corporations and professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, actors, and athletes from across the globe, providing expert guidance on all aspects of US visa and nationality applications, and talent mobility to the USA.

Need legal advice?

For specialist advice on your query, get in touch with our team of US immigration attorneys.​

Need legal advice?

For specialist advice on your query, get in touch with our team of US immigration attorneys.

Share on social

For specialist advice on a US immigration or nationality matter for your business, contact our US immigration attorneys. 

For specialist advice on a US immigration or nationality matter for your business, contact our US immigration attorneys.