H-1B visa lottery sees sharp decline in registrations for second consecutive year

The number of eligible registrations submitted for the annual H-1B visa lottery dropped to around 344,000 in March, marking the lowest figure in four years, according to data released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Tuesday.

USCIS data shows that while duplicate submissions continued to decline for the second consecutive year, the number of workers with a single eligible registration also saw a decrease. This was the second year under the updated selection process, which assigns equal selection odds to each individual to reduce misuse. The organisation introduced these changes to prevent companies from filing multiple registrations for the same worker, a practice it said undermined the integrity of the lottery system.

The H-1B visa program, commonly used by technology companies to employ high-skilled foreign professionals, has remained a topic of political debate. The registration system was initially introduced during the Trump administration, which also increased scrutiny of visa petitions. Recently, internal disagreements among Trump allies have emerged over the program’s impact. While White House adviser Elon Musk supported the program, others like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer criticised it, saying it affects employment opportunities for American workers.

This year’s selection cycle was the first to apply the new registration fee of $215, a significant increase from the previous $10 charge. Despite the drop in registrations, the number of applications still exceeded the 85,000 visas available under the annual cap for specialty occupations.

Overall, eligible registrations decreased by more than 26% compared to the previous fiscal year. In contrast to last year, when multiple registrations made up over half of all entries, they now represent just over 2% of total eligible registrations.