TEQ One Mic Stand: H-1B Visa Updates with Kimberly Bennett of Jackson Lewis

Attorney Kimberly Bennett of Jackson Lewis details the upcoming H-1B Visa Lottery deadline. H-1B Visas for “specialty occupation positions” or professional positions requiring a bachelor’s degree. They are employer, location and job specific.

Kimberly details how there is an annual quota for new H-1B visas – 85,000, including 20,000 reserved for individuals with US Master’s degrees.

Because there are a limited number available each year, USCIS holds an annual lottery:

• The Lottery is a two-stage process – application and selection
• Application – Electronic application period, only open for two weeks in March
• Selection – Selections occur between April and September, until all 85,000 visas are allocated.

Certain Employers are Exempt from the annual H-1B Lottery – exempt from the annual “H-1B CAP," includes:

• Institutions of Higher Education (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))
• Employers who are employing staff working at one of the qualifying organizations above
• Government research organizations
• Non-Profit organizations affiliated with an institution of higher education
• Non-Profit Research organizations

Now is the time to prepare for the H-1B lottery. If you miss this year’s lottery, you will not be able to try again until March 2024.