US H-1B visa: Registration for FY22 has started today, window closes on March 25; all you need to know

The USCIS got around 2.67 lakh registrations last year. Out of this, over 60 per cent were from India. For the first time in 30 years, the immigration agency had to go for a second lottery in 2020, because it did not receive sufficient applications to fill the yearly quota of 85,000 visas. This was on account of the apprehension surrounding COVID-19 and entry limitations to the US as IT firms decided to skip filing fresh requests.

The USCIS declared that the H-1B quota was filled last month. According to IT professionals, business travel is expected to resume in soon. However, with work-from-home becoming the norm, it is uncertain if the 2022 fiscal too would witness a similar trend. Apart from this, this is expected to be the last year where a lottery-based selection would be considered. Instead, a wage-based selection of applications could be used beginning next year.

Selection of H-1B petitions based on wages was likely to be effective from March 9, 2021. However, as of now, it is under review by the Biden administration. Till December 31, 2021, the administration has put this on hold. This is likely to affect the recruitment of freshers and those with fewer years of experience, as those with higher salaries have better probabilities of getting selected.