Washington, December 3
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it has received sufficient petitions to meet the congressionally mandated limits for H-1B visas for fiscal year (FY) 2025. The agency confirmed meeting the 65,000-visa regular cap and the 20,000-visa US advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), USCIS stated, "We have received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa master's cap for FY 2025. We will be sending non-selection notices over the next few days."
https://x.com/USCIS/status/1863667886482489703
The agency further clarified, "When we complete sending non-selection notifications to registrants' online accounts, the status for registrations properly submitted, but not selected, will now show as 'Not Selected.'"
https://x.com/USCIS/status/1863667887644332205
According to the USCIS, individuals whose registrations were not selected will receive notifications in their online accounts. Meanwhile, the agency will continue to process H-1B petitions exempt from the cap. These include applications for current H-1B workers seeking extensions of their stay, changes to employment terms, or transfers to new employers. The USCIS also clarified that workers previously counted against the cap in prior years and who retain their cap numbers are not subject to the FY 2025 limit.
Highlighting the purpose of the H-1B program, the USCIS noted that US businesses use it to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The agency encouraged petitioners to subscribe to updates on the H-1B cap season via the H-1B Cap Season webpage.
As per the press release, the USCIS emphasised, "We will continue to accept and process petitions filed to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States; change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers; allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in additional H-1B positions."