US to Accept Fresh Petitions for H-1B Visa From 2 August

In a 'second lottery', USCIS will use a random selection process to meet the H-1B visa cap.

Starting 2 August, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will be taking fresh petitions for the registrations that were accepted for the H-1B visa.

(Photo: iStockphoto)

Starting 2 August, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will be taking fresh petitions for the registrations that were accepted for the H-1B visa.

This is what can be seen as a second lottery for those who could not make it in the first round. "The H-1B visa, the most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China," reported PTI.

This is only for the registrations made before 30 June and accepted earlier this week. The agency will accept petitions till 3 November.

The USCIS witnessed a 12.5 percent increase in applications for the 2022 fiscal than the previous year and will be using a "random selection process" to meet the visa cap. The agency follows a financial year from October to September.

The computerised draw system earlier this week did not reach the cap mandated by the Congress and so such a decision had to be taken.

Petitioners are expected to file their pleas on paper along with a printed evidence of the acceptance of their applications. There is no option of an online method of filing, The Economic Times reported. Applicants are required to update their USCIS accounts to get more details about filing their petitions.

(With inputs from the PTI and the Economic Times)