According to data released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the number of registrations for the H-1B visa lottery in fiscal year 2025 has seen a substantial decline, marking the second consecutive year of a sharp decrease. For fiscal year 2025, USCIS received approximately 470,342 valid registrations, representing a 38.6% drop from the 758,994 registrations submitted in fiscal year 2024.
This decline is largely attributed to USCIS’s implementation of a beneficiary-focused selection process designed to reduce duplicate registrations and misuse of the system. Despite the decrease in total registrations, the number of unique beneficiaries remained relatively stable at around 442,000, comparable to 446,000 in the previous year. The number of employers submitting registrations also saw a slight increase, rising from 52,000 to 52,700.
Notably, the average number of registrations per beneficiary fell significantly, from 1.7 in 2024 to 1.06 in 2025, reflecting a reduction in duplicate entries. USCIS stated that the new process has effectively curtailed attempts by employers to submit multiple registrations for the same beneficiary through different channels, thereby minimizing abuse of the system.
In the 2025 fiscal year lottery, 120,603 registrations were selected, resulting in 114,017 unique beneficiaries chosen to fill the annual cap of 85,000 visas. The selection rate of about 26% is consistent with previous years, closely matching the 25% rate in 2024 and 27% in 2023.
USCIS emphasized its commitment to continuing scrutiny of the 2025 data and pledges to take stringent action against any attempts to manipulate the lottery process. This includes denying or revoking applications and referring cases to law enforcement when necessary.
The downward trend in registrations highlights progress toward enhancing fairness and transparency in the H-1B visa program. Despite fewer registrations, the demand for highly skilled foreign workers remains strong. With ongoing reforms, future H-1B lotteries are expected to better reflect genuine applicant qualifications and needs, reduce system abuses, and ensure a fairer, more effective visa allocation process.
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