The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. The H-1B lottery is a random drawing of H-1B petitions submitted by employers. The lottery is held once a year, and the winners are selected from the pool of eligible petitions.
The H-1B lottery has been in place since 1990. The number of H-1B visas available each year is capped at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 visas available for foreign workers who have earned a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. university. In recent years, the number of H-1B petitions has far exceeded the number of available visas, making the lottery increasingly competitive.
