US Visa: H-1B cap registration period extended – Check last date

USCIS has extended the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. The initial registration period, which opened at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and was originally scheduled to run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024, will now run through noon Eastern on March 25, 2024.

USCIS is aware of a temporary system outage experienced by some registrants and is extending the registration period to provide additional time due to this issue.

During this period, prospective petitioners and their representatives, if applicable, must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. USCIS still intends to notify selected registrants by March 31, 2024.

On Feburary 28, 2024, USCIS launched new myUSCIS organizational accounts that allow multiple people within an organization, as well as their legal representatives, to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions, and any associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

A new organizational account is required to participate in the H-1B Electronic Registration Process. 

On April 1, 2024, USCIS service centers will no longer accept Form I-129 petitions requesting H-1B or H-1B1 (HSC) classification.

USCIS will reject H-1B or H-1B1 (HSC) petitions received at a USCIS service center on or after April 1, 2024. There will be no grace period provided.

Beginning on April 1, 2024, all paper-filed Form I-129 petitions requesting H-1B1 (HSC), or H-1B classification, including those with a concurrent Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, and those with concurrently filed Form I-539 and/or Form I-765, must be filed at a USCIS lockbox facility.

If you are filing Form I-129 alone or with Form I-907, you may also file online. In March, USCIS will launch online filing of Form I-129 and associated Form I-907 for non-cap H-1B petitions.

On April 1, USCIS will begin accepting online filing for H-1B cap petitions and associated Forms I-907 for petitioners whose registrations have been selected. USCIS will provide the lockbox filing addresses for paper filed forms in late March via web alert and on our Form I-129 Direct Filing Addresses page.

Prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each prospective beneficiary.