U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agency that administers the nation’s immigration system, closed the H1-B visa lottery for fiscal year 2025 on March 25, 2024. Beginning April 1, selected petitioners are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition (Form I-129) for beneficiaries to begin working October 1, 2024.
The new Form I-129 (OMB No. 1615-0009, Edition 04/01/2024) must be used, and for the first time, employers that had beneficiaries selected in the lottery may file Form I-129 electronically. Employers who file visa petitions will be paying substantially more because the H-1B filing fee has increased from $460 to $780. In addition, the per-beneficiary fee for participating in the lottery will increase from $10 to $215 beginning with the FY 2026 H-1B lottery next year.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.