US reaches H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year 2025: USCIS; Can Indians still apply?

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received sufficient petitions to meet the congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas for regular applicants and an additional 20,000 visas designated for US advanced degree holders, commonly referred to as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2025.

In the coming days, USCIS will notify registrants of their selection status via their online accounts. Registrants who are not selected will see the status "Not Selected: Not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration" once notifications are complete.

The deadline for submitting H-1B cap petitions based on a valid registration selection notice was June 30, 2024. Since June 30 fell on a Sunday, USCIS has stated that properly filed paper petitions received on July 1, 2024, will be considered timely.

USCIS had previously extended the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The registration window opened on March 6, 2024, and was extended to March 25, 2024.

The H-1B visa program allows US employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialised occupations that require theoretical and practical expertise, typically necessitating a bachelor’s degree or higher. Eligible fields include, but are not limited to, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, education, business, law, and the arts.

However, leading US companies such as Google, Amazon, Infosys and IBM have sponsored fewer H-1B visas in 2024, the USCIS data revealed. 

Historically, the majority of H-1B visa holders are from India, and this year's data highlights a decline in sponsorships across nearly all major firms. USCIS data for the fiscal year 2024, which spans from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, shows that nearly all of the top 15 H-1B sponsoring companies have reduced their approvals.

In fiscal 2023, Indian nationals accounted for a staggering 72.3% of the total 386,000 H-1B visas issued, while Chinese nationals made up just 11.7%.

Despite this, USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the cap, including those for current H-1B workers who have previously been counted against the cap. These petitions may involve extending the duration of stay, changing employment terms, switching employers, or allowing concurrent employment in additional H-1B positions for current visa holders.