USCIS Receives 780,000 H-1B Registrations for H-1B FY 2024 Lottery
USCIS received 780,884 H-1B registrations for the fiscal year 2024 season. This is the highest number of H-1B registrations received by USCIS in the history of the H-1B program crossing the last year’s total of 483,927 registrations for the 2023 season.
Let’s do some simple calculations to come up with some facts and find the ratio of registrations available:
- Registrations / Availability Ratio = 780,884/85,000 = 9.18
- USCIS received 9.18 registrations for each H-1B visa cap seat, according to the above ratio. In total, USCIS received nearly 9 registrations for one available spot.
- The selection chances are: 85,000/780,884 = 10.88%
- According to the above percentage, only 11 of the 100 registrations submitted would be chosen in the H-1B lottery.
*USCIS received 483,927 registrations for the H-1B FY 2023 season. If we compare that with this year’s numbers it is a whopping 61% increase in the number of H-1B registrations.
110,791 H-1B Registrations Selected for the Fiscal Year 2024 Season
According to USCIS H1B FY 2024 lottery updates, 110,791 H-1B registrations have been selected based on historical data and patterns. When compared to the previous years, it looks like this:
- H-1B FY 2024 Selected Registrations = 110,791 (as of 24th April)
- H-1B FY 2023 Selected Registrations = 127,600
- H-1B FY 2022 Selected Registrations = 131,924
USCIS has selected a smaller number in FY2024 due to higher than anticipated filings in the previous years along with higher projected approvals for H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore) visas.
408,891 Registrations for Beneficiaries with Multiple Eligible Registrations
The H-1B CAP FY2024 lottery saw a surge in the number of beneficiaries who had submitted multiple eligible registrations, leading to a sharp decline in the percentage of beneficiaries with only one eligible registration. Beneficiaries with only one eligible registration stood at just 47% compared to around 90% in H-1B CAP FY 2021 lottery.
- H-1B FY 2024 % Beneficiaries with Unique Registrations = 47.7% (350,103/780,884)
- H-1B FY 2023 % Beneficiaries with Unique Registrations = 65.3% (309,241/483,927)
- H-1B FY 2022 % Beneficiaries with Unique Registrations = 70.8% (211,304/308,613)
- H-1B FY 2021 % Beneficiaries with Unique Registrations = 89.8% (241,299/274,237)
The considerable uptick in eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple submissions, surpassing previous years, has sparked concerns that some individuals may have attempted to gain an unfair advantage by colluding to submit multiple registrations for the same beneficiary. This worrisome trend has raised serious questions about the equity and credibility of the H-1B visa program prompting USCIS to take some severe measures.
According to the USCIS website, based on evidence from the FY 2023 and FY 2024 H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions accordingly, and is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution.
