Strategic Retreat
The United States’ recalibration of its Africa strategy signals a stark departure from decades of broad based engagement towards a narrower, cost-driven approach focused largely on security.
In a move that could benefit Indians, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will hold a second random lottery selection from the previously submitted H-1B visas for fiscal 2024. The H-1B visa lottery is one of the most sought after in the visa category by Indians to move to the US.
In March this year, the USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption.
Advertisement
Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2024 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.
Advertisement
The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2024 was from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023.
What did the USCIS say about H-1B visa lottery?
USCIS, the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the country, recently determined that it would need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2024 numerical allocations.
“Soon, we will select additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations using a random selection process,” the USCIS said in a statement released on Thursday.
“We will announce once we have completed this second selection process and have notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations from this round of selection that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.”
The immigration agency further said that those with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.
The H-1B visa allows companies and other employers in the US to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.
Every year the US gives 65,000 H-1B visas open to all and 20,000 to those with advanced US degrees.
Indians are the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visas getting about 75 per cent of them, according to the US government.
Advertisement
Related posts
Iran denies ceasefire proposal as Trump announces end to ’12-day war’
Confusion and skepticism surrounded a surprise ceasefire announcement, as a senior Iranian official told CNN that Tehran had not received any formal proposal from the United States and saw no reason to halt hostilities with Israel or Washington.
France expresses concern after US strikes nuclear sites in Iran
France, on Sunday, expressed concerns after the strikes carried out by the US against three nuclear sites in Iran and said that "it was not all involved in these strikes or in the planning of these strikes".
