USCIS has concluded the selection process from a second round of the H1-B 2021 lottery. Since they did not receive enough to meet the FY 2021 H-1B quota of 85,000, they had to conduct a second round of this selection. The first round was conducted from April 1 to June 30, 2020.
While employers did not have to do anything specific to enroll into the second round of the lottery, they USCIS today began notifying employers and their immigration counsel of the results of a second selection lottery for the FY 2021 H-1B cap.
Petitioning employers whose H-1B registrations are selected in the second drawing can submit their final petitions until November 16, 2020.
H1-B Registration Process & Status Update
This year, the process included every employer registering online with USCIS and then those that were approved by USCIS could submit their registrations for the lottery. USCIS has conducted two rounds of the selection process to meet the 85,000-annual quota.
Once registered and the lottery has concluded, the online portal will reflect either of the following statuses:
Selected: Selected to file an FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petition.
Not Selected: Not selected for this fiscal year.
Denied: If there are multiple registrations on the beneficiary’s behalf, they will be marked invalid for the same fiscal year are.
Not Selected: If not selected, the petitioning employer will be notified at the end of the fiscal year.
How Can You Find Out If You Were Selected In The H1-B 2021 Lottery?
While applicants of premium processing (offered only to the those who were elected in the initial round) will get notified of selection within 14 days, employers will know if they were selected in the following ways:
- Online Account: The online USCIS account is the first point of contact by USCIS. This will be updated automatically with a status change if the beneficiary was selected in the H1-B 2021 lottery process.
- H1-B Receipt number – Alternately on registration, each employer is assigned a 13-digit receipt number. This number is notified to your employer via regular mail. While the slowest option, it’s a certified guarantee of your selection for the next fiscal year.
- Trackers – While USCIS offers telephonic and online options to check case status, one can also track the progress and trend of H1B petitions and approvals at H1B Tracker. This forum allows you to discuss, analyze and track your visa status.
- Check Cashed – Each petition is filed along with a fee in the form of a check. If USCIS has encashed this check, it is an indication that your petition was selected. All rejected petitions are returned along with their checks.
Learn how much a H1-B petition is charged at H1-B visa fee.
- Form I-797– USCIS sends out an H1-B approval notice in the form of Form I-797. This would be the official documentation communicating your selection.
Sample Form I-797
- SEVIS – The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System maintains information pertaining to international students. If the primary beneficiary has applied under the Master’s cap quota of 20,000 and is selected, the SEVIS record will be updated with the H1-B status. Students on F1 visas sponsored by a US employer to work in the US have this option to confirm selection in the H1-B 2021 lottery.
If you are selected in this year’s H1-B lottery follow the next steps to set up a H1-B visa interview and the subsequent steps can be found in H1-B visa guide.
Next Steps: After Being Selected In The Second Round Of H1-B 2021 Lottery
- An employer whose registration is newly selected will receive a USCIS email indicating that action has been taken on its case.
- The employer or its immigration counsel must log into the H-1B cap registration system and print out a selection notice for the case.
- The notice will inform the employer of the filing deadline and the specific USCIS filing location.
- The notice must be included when the employer files a complete H-1B cap petition for the registration.
