NewsFlash! USCIS Releases FY24 H1B Registration Numbers and Raises Concerns on Multiple Registrations

This morning, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data relating to the FY24 H1B registration lottery in an eMail to stakeholders and on its H1B Electronic Registration Process website. While the USCIS announced on March 27, 2023, that enough initial registrations were submitted to the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) H1B cap, including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap), the agency had not announced how many registrations were received for FY24.

According to the USCIS, 780,884 total registrations were received during the FY24 lottery, of which the agency determined 758,994 were eligible registrations. Generally, those that are identified as duplicate registrations, have failed payments, or are deleted, are not considered eligible registrations. This is a significant increase from the 483,927 total registrations, and 474,421 eligible registrations the agency received last year.

In its notice, the USCIS also indicated that 408,891 eligible registrations were identified for beneficiaries with multiple registrations, a significant increase from the 165,180 beneficiaries with multiple registrations in FY23. According to the USCIS, this increase in beneficiaries with multiple registrations raises concerns that companies may be working together to unfairly increase the chance of selection.

When an employer submits a registration on behalf of a prospective employee, that employer must certify that the registration reflects a legitimate job offer, and that the employer has not worked with another company to unfairly increase the chance of selection for the beneficiary. While it is possible for an individual to be registered for the lottery by more than one U.S. company, a single company normally cannot file multiple registrations for the same individual. Similarly, related or affiliated companies are not allowed to submit registrations for the same beneficiary, unless there are truly two separate job opportunities that can be clearly documented when the H1B petition is filed. Further, even unrelated companies may not conspire to file registrations for the same individual when an independent job opportunity does not exist for that beneficiary.

The USCIS also indicated that it has begun extensive fraud investigations against employers that may have worked together to unfairly increase a beneficiary’s chance of selection, and will deny and revoke H1B petitions in these circumstances.

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