Official Announcement of H-1B Lottery Results. Urgency for U.S. Immigration Plan B

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially announced the H-1B lottery results for the fiscal year 2025 on April 30th. This year, there were a total of 479,953 registrations for the H-1B visa, with 470,342 valid registrations. Out of these, only 120,603 registrations were selected, resulting in a lottery selection rate of approximately 25%.

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Compared to the 14.6% selection rate in the first round of fiscal year 2024, the current fiscal year’s 25% selection rate represents a significant improvement. This improvement is mainly attributed to the new “one registration per individual” rule implemented by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at the beginning of the year. This rule led to a decrease in the total number of H-1B registrations, effectively preventing instances of multiple registrations by the same individual and enhancing the fairness of the H-1B lottery process.

However, fiscal year 2024 had two rounds of H-1B lotteries, and it is still unknown whether there will be a second round for the current fiscal year. Overall, the H-1B program still faces the challenge of supply falling short of demand.

Is Winning the H-1B Lottery a Guarantee for Staying in the U.S.?

Clearly not.

According to a report by Business Insider on April 25th, Amazon has notified its foreign employees earlier this year that it has decided to extend the suspension of all new PERM (Permanent Labor Certification) applications until 2024.

The PERM process is the first step in obtaining a green card. Amazon first suspended PERM applications in 2023. After reviewing “labor market conditions and immigration requirements,” the company decided to extend the suspension until the end of 2024.

Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan responded via email, “Due to government requirements for the green card process, we have temporarily suspended PERM applications. We understand that this is difficult for affected employees, and we are working to support them in finding alternative immigration pathways as soon as possible.”

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We interviewed Brandon Meyer, founder of the US MLG (Meyer Law Group) and a top 25 immigration lawyer in the United States, for his perspective on this news.

Brandon Meyer, the lawyer, responded: Amazon’s decision to extend the suspension period for green card applications until 2024 means that their employees will need to wait an additional 3-4 years to obtain a green card. MLG Law Firm has recently received a significant number of EB-5 inquiries from Amazon employees.

Plan B Imminent: EB-5 New Policy Offers New Solution in 90 Days

Overall, H-1B is just a transition, and the process of obtaining a green card is uncertain and lengthy. Whether one can apply for a green card and when they can do so is entirely at the discretion of the employer. Therefore, an increasing number of applicants are turning their attention to the new EB-5 policy in the United States.

The new EB-5 policy reserves 32% of the visa quota for expedited processing, with the possibility of obtaining a green card in as little as 2-3 years, without language, education, background, or entrepreneurial requirements. Applicants in the United States can simultaneously submit the I-526E immigrant petition and the I-485 green card application, potentially receiving a Combo card (work permit and re-entry permit) in as fast as 90 days. This solution perfectly addresses a series of issues faced by international students, including difficulties in finding jobs, H-1B visa lottery challenges, H-1B to green card transition hurdles, and overall challenges in staying in the United States.

Since the introduction of the new policy, over 3,000 families have submitted EB-5 applications, and the window for expedited processing is fleeting. Globevisa recommends that families planning for U.S. residency take prompt action to initiate projects and capitalize on policy advantages.