The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has decided to conduct a rare second lottery for H-1B visas to decide on successful applicants.
The move is likely to provide another chance to several Indian IT professionals who did not get selected during the first round of the process.
The USCIS said a decision was taken after determining that the computerized draws of lots for H-1B visas conducted early this year did not give enough Congressional mandated H-1B visas.
The citizenship and immigration services department said an H-1B cap-subject petition must be filled at the correct service center and online filing is not available for new visa petitions under the second round of lottery.
“Petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper and must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2022 H-1B cap-subject petition,” the USCIS said.
The US agency also added that petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those petitions eligible for advanced degree exemption, must submit evidence to establish eligibility for petition approval, based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
The second H-1B visa lottery round involving petition filing will begin on August 2 after final registrations are selected on July 28. The process will close on November 3.
Individuals with selected registrations will need to have their USCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, including details of when and where to file, the agency added.
