Getting ready for the FY25 H-1B season and upcoming changes to the H-1B program you need to note

H-1B needs for fiscal year FY 2025. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to release dates for the H-1B cap registration processes this month and we expect that like in previous years registration will open at the beginning of March.

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It is important to prepare well in advance to improve chances of selection and avoid errors or last-minute glitches especially since the past three years the USCIS has received registrations way beyond the 85,000 cap. In fact, the USCIS received more than 780,000 total H-1B registrations during the FY 2024 registration period.

To prepare for registration employers should review the immigration status of their current employees and potential requirements for foreign national employees and identify individuals they would like to sponsor for an H-1B visa or H-1B status.

These individuals could include:

• Recent college and university graduates employed in F-1 optional training status;
  
• Candidates abroad who are subject to the annual H-1B cap;
  
• Candidates in another nonimmigrant status (e.g. L-1B) who are approaching the maximum limits of their status and would benefit from a change of status to H-1B;
  
• Candidates currently employed pursuant to an H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) who wish to become independent of their spouse’s H-1B status or who are concerned about continuity of the H-4 EAD program;
  
• Candidates in another nonimmigrant status who work for a different employer and would require an H-1B visa to change jobs;
  
• Candidates in TN, E, or H-1B1 status for whom an employer is considering pursuing permanent residence.

There is a congressionally mandated quota of 65,000