H-1B Second Lottery: Why It Happens, Fees, and Cap-Gap

An H-1B second lottery is an additional selection USCIS runs from registrations already submitted during the March window when the first round of picks does not produce enough filed petitions to fill the annual cap. It does not happen every year. FY 2025 had one, announced on July 30, 2024.¹ FY 2026 did not, because enough petitions came in after the first draw.² Whether one runs in any given year depends entirely on how many first-round selections turn into filed, complete petitions.

Why USCIS Runs a Second Round

USCIS deliberately selects more registrations than the cap allows, because it knows some picks never become petitions. Employers change hiring plans. Workers leave the country or find another visa route. Petitions get rejected on filing errors or denied on the merits. When that drop-off is larger than USCIS predicted and the cap remains unfilled, the agency draws again from the same pool.

The timing depends on the filing window. Selected employers get at least 90 days to file a petition.² After that window closes, USCIS counts what actually arrived and decides whether more picks are needed. In FY 2025, that decision landed in late July.¹ Some years have seen a third or fourth round. Others have needed none.

For FY 2027, USCIS moved from a purely random draw to a weighted selection that favors higher-wage offers.³ Higher-wage roles tend to have stronger employer commitment behind them, so the share of picks that convert into filed petitions may rise. That could reduce the need for second rounds. It could also work the other way, as the section on the $100,000 payment explains below.

Is Your Registration Still in the Running?

Only registrations already submitted during the March window are eligible for a second selection. You cannot add a new registration afterward, and USCIS does not accept late entries. Withdrawn, denied, or invalidated registrations are out.

If your first-round result was not a selection, your USCIS online account will still list the registration as “Submitted.” That status is what keeps you in the pool for any additional draw during the same fiscal year.³ You do not resubmit anything. You do not pay another $215. You do not contact USCIS. The system draws automatically from existing “Submitted” entries when it needs more.

USCIS only tells unselected registrants their entry is finished once it has decided the cap is filled for that fiscal year and no further rounds will happen. Until that notice comes, “Submitted” means you are still in play.

What Happens If You Are Selected in a Second Round

The process is identical to a first-round selection. Your employer sees a selection notice in its USCIS online account with a specific filing window, and it needs to put together and file a complete H-1B petition before that window closes.

Labor Condition Application

Before the petition can be filed, the employer must get a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor. On the LCA, the employer attests that it will pay the prevailing wage for the position and location and that the hire will not harm the working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.⁴ DOL usually certifies within seven days.

The Petition

The main filing is Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with the H Classification Supplement and the H-1B Data Collection and Filing Fee Exemption Supplement.⁵⁶

The supporting evidence has to show two things: that the job is a specialty occupation (generally one that requires at least a bachelor’s degree in a specific field as the normal entry requirement), and that the worker is qualified for it. That usually means a detailed job description, diplomas and transcripts, and any required professional licenses. Foreign-language documents need a certified English translation with the translator’s attestation of accuracy, and foreign degrees typically need a credential evaluation showing U.S. equivalency.

A successful submission produces Form I-797C, Notice of Action, as the official receipt.⁷

Fees Your Employer Will Pay

Government fees are the employer’s legal responsibility. The worker cannot be asked to cover them. Second-round selections do not add any extra government fee beyond what first-round selections owe. A typical initial cap-subject petition involves:

Base I-129 filing fee: $780.
ACWIA fee: $1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees, or $750 for those with 25 or fewer. Nonprofits and certain research institutions are exempt.⁸
Fraud Prevention and Detection fee: $500 for initial H-1B petitions and change-of-employer petitions.
Asylum Program fee: $600 for most employers, or $300 for small employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees. Nonprofits are exempt.
Public Law 114-113 fee: $4,000, but only for employers with 50 or more U.S. employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status.⁹

The $100,000 Payment for Overseas Beneficiaries

A presidential proclamation issued on September 19, 2025 added a $100,000 payment requirement for H-1B petitions filed on behalf of workers who are currently outside the United States.¹⁰ It is separate from all other filing fees and must accompany the petition. For 12 months after the proclamation’s effective date, USCIS will restrict adjudication of overseas-beneficiary petitions that do not include the payment.

The Secretary of Homeland Security can waive it for individual workers, whole companies, or entire industries when the hire is in the national interest and poses no threat to U.S. security or welfare. Workers already inside the United States changing from another status, such as F-1 to H-1B, are not affected.

For a second-lottery pick whose beneficiary is abroad, this changes the math. An employer weighing whether to file after being drawn now faces up to $100,000 on top of standard fees unless a waiver applies. Some employers may decline to file, which could keep the cap unfilled and trigger further selection rounds.

Cap-Gap for F-1 Students Selected Late

Students in the U.S. on F-1 visas with Optional Practical Training face a timing problem: their OPT can end before H-1B status begins on October 1. Cap-gap extends F-1 status and work authorization automatically when a cap-subject H-1B petition requesting a change of status is properly and timely filed on the student’s behalf, based on a “valid, selected registration.”¹¹

A second-round pick qualifies the same way a first-round pick does, provided the petition is filed while F-1 status is still in effect. No new Employment Authorization Document is issued; the designated school official can update the Form I-20 once the I-797C receipt is available.

The risk with a second-round pick is timing. If OPT expires before the second selection is announced, there is no valid petition yet to trigger the extension. Students in that position should talk to an immigration attorney well before their OPT end date.

If You Are Never Selected

Once USCIS decides the cap is filled for the fiscal year, every remaining “Submitted” registration expires. Nothing carries over. To be considered again, your employer has to submit a fresh registration during the following March window and pay the $215 fee again.

Workers running out of time on a current status have a few alternatives worth exploring. Cap-exempt H-1B positions at universities, nonprofit research organizations, and government research entities are not subject to the annual numerical limit.¹² Others look at O-1 visas for individuals with extraordinary ability, L-1 intracompany transfers, or employer-sponsored green card processes. Each has its own eligibility rules, and an immigration attorney can help sort out which paths are realistic for a given worker and employer.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Will Conduct Second Random Selection for Regular Cap from Previously Submitted FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registrations
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FY 2026 H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Electronic Registration Process
4
U.S. Department of Labor. H-1B Labor Condition Application
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions (Public Law 114-113)
10
The White House. Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extension of Post Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 Status for Eligible Students under the H-1B Cap-Gap Regulations
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 Admission of Nonimmigrants