The USCIS has released their data on the amount of H1B registrations they received for 2023 – and the numbers are astounding. The H1B registrations have increased by 56% compared to 2022, with the USCIS receiving 483,927 total registrations.

How Many Registrations Were Selected?

From the first round lottery, the USCIS selected 127,600 registrations in order to meet their projected numbers for next year’s allocations. However, this number is significantly more than FY 2022’s selections at 87,500. With these soaring numbers, how likely is a round two or three for the H1B registration lottery for FY 2023? 

FY 2022 Registration Results

If we analyze FY 2022’s lottery numbers, we see that a second lottery round was conducted in July of 2021 to select an additional 27,717 registrations due to low filing volume. This means that there were a number of lottery selected registrations from the first round who did not move forward with filing their H1B cap-subject petitions. A third round selected an additional 16,753 registrations, resulting in 131,970 total selected registrations for 2022. 

Will There Be a Second or Third Lottery Round?

So, what does this mean for second or third round lotteries? Well, first, it is important to note that FY 2023 H1B registrations have reached the highest number ever seen by USCIS in the history of the program. This means that the future of what’s to come is unclear. Keep in mind, the H1B visa cap quota for FY 2023 is 85,000 for both regular and US masters quotas. However, they normally accept more H1B petitions than the cap allows because they assume that petitions will be denied, rejected, or withdrawn. 

In our opinion, there will likely be at least a second round of H1B lottery registrations for FY 2023. The H1B registration numbers are unusually high, which could be caused by duplicate filings. Larger numbers can also translate to a higher percentage of registrations selected not moving forward with filing their cap-subject petitions. The USCIS uses calculations to determine projected numbers and how many registrations to select in order to meet their allotted numbers, and it is likely that they will have a soft cushion for that number to account for unsuccessful submissions. 

Remaining Hopeful

H1B cap-subject petitions are surely rolling in – April 1, 2022 was the first day that USCIS began allowing submissions. We will continue to monitor the numbers and will report as soon as we get word of a second lottery on the horizon. Fingers crossed!