Over the past few weeks, many ILBSG clients have been asking about their registered H-1B selection notices. Many clients have concerns that the H-1B Cap indicated on the notice is not the one they registered under. However, this is totally normal and no cause for alarm. If this is your situation, your selection notice is not wrong, you simply may have been selected under a different H-1B cap than you anticipated. This article explains why, but the important thing is that you were selected!

Starting last year, USCIS changed the order in which the H-1B petitions are selected in the lottery. First, USCIS considers all registrations for the first round of selections for the 65,000 Regular Cap. This means that even if you registered under the Masters’ Cap, you are first considered under the Regular Cap (since if you have a U.S. Masters degree, you obviously have a bachelor’s degree and are eligible for the Regular Cap as well). After that, all unselected Masters Cap registrations are taken and separately considered for a second lottery, for the 20,000 Masters’ Cap. This change was made to increase the number of U.S. Masters’ Degree holders selected under the H-1B Cap as a whole. As such, if you were selected under the Regular Cap even though you registered under the Masters’ Cap, your selection notice is not wrong and this is not a typo. You were simply selected in the first round of the lottery. The important thing is that you got a spot and your employer can now file an H-1B petition on your behalf.

When your employer files the H-1B petition for you, the petition will be prepared based on the registration selection notice. If your selection notice indicates Regular Cap, the petition will be filed as a Regular Cap case, even if you have a U.S. Masters degree. It is important to understand this does not have any effect on the petition or your chances of approval whatsoever. Whether your case is filed as a Masters’ Cap or a Regular Cap case simply lets USCIS know which H-1B Cap you were given a spot under.

As a reminder, the last day to file an H-1B Cap petition is June 30, 2021. If you have not done so already, please initiate the process with ILBSG today. The H-1B petition must be created on the MyEsq portal by the H-1B petitioning company for us to get started.

If you have any questions, please reach out to an ILBSG attorney. We are here to help with all of your immigration needs.

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