Recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the 85,000 cap for lottery-based H-1B petitions for the 2024 fiscal year has been reached. This means there will be no third round of the H-1B lottery for applications initiated this March!
USCIS also announced that it will begin notifying those who were not selected. All non-selected applications can be checked in the USCIS H-1B online registration system, and the status of all registered but non-selected applications will be displayed as "Not Selected".
According to USCIS data, the agency received a total of 780,884 H-1B online registrations for the 2024 fiscal year, of which 758,994 were valid. In the first round, USCIS selected 110,791 valid registrations, resulting in a rough selection rate of 14.2% and an effective selection rate of 14.6%, setting the lowest record since the inception of the H-1B lottery process. After the second round of the H-1B lottery was completed on July 31, updated data from USCIS showed that an additional 77,600 valid registrations were selected. Across both rounds, USCIS selected a total of 188,400 valid registrations, exhausting the 85,000 H-1B quota for the 2024 fiscal year. As of now, after two rounds of the H-1B lottery this year, the combined rough selection rate is 24.1%, and the effective selection rate is 24.9%.
As the primary pathway for international students and others to obtain a work visa and legally remain in the U.S., the H-1B visa has become increasingly competitive, with far more applicants than available spots. As the data above shows, the competition for H-1B visa applications is intense. Even if one is lucky enough to be selected, there remains the challenge of securing long-term legal status in the U.S.
With the low selection rate of the H-1B and the year-over-year increase in application volume, the probability of relying on the lottery to stay in the U.S. and obtain status is naturally decreasing. Therefore, for the vast majority of applicants, it is essential to prepare a Plan B as early as possible to support their stay in the U.S.
For families whose children are already studying in the U.S. or planning to study there, if they wish to work and live in the U.S. without being constrained by the H-1B visa, parents should consider planning ahead: by helping their children obtain a Green Card, they can ensure their children can both study and stay! For example, through the EB-5 investment immigration program, preparing a U.S. Green Card for a child in advance serves as a reassurance for the family, whether for the child's success in applying to top universities or for their future stability. After graduation, the child will no longer be trapped by OPT and H-1B, gaining more high-quality choices and fair opportunities in internships and employment.
Currently, this is an excellent time to plan for a child's status through EB-5 investment immigration. The new EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act has allocated visa quotas, meaning that projects in the EB-5 reserved visa categories (20% for rural projects, 10% for high-unemployment area projects, and 2% for infrastructure projects) are currently without a backlog.
For investors, under the new EB-5 law, if applying for an immigration category without a backlog, and the applicant is already within the U.S. and meets the corresponding conditions, they can file the I-485 adjustment of status application concurrently with their immigration petition, along with the I-765 application for employment authorization and the I-131 application for travel authorization. Upon receiving the I-485 receipt, the applicant can legally remain in the U.S. for an extended period; upon approval of the I-765 (3-6 months), they can obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to freely choose employment; and upon approval of the I-131 (6-12 months), they can obtain Advance Parole (AP) to freely enter and exit the U.S.
Immigration involves two key elements: timing and choice. The window for EB-5 "concurrent filing" without a backlog is fleeting, so seize the opportunity to catch the last train! For investors with a rigid demand for U.S. immigration, the rural project category within the EB-5 reserved visa channel is currently the preferred pathway for quickly obtaining a U.S. Green Card.
The "University Town Hilton Hotel" EB-5 rural project, exclusively represented by WorldWay Group in the Greater China region, offers multiple advantages: priority processing, no backlog, 2.9x real estate mortgage guarantee (50%)/developer personal asset guarantee (50%), EB-5 funds entering and exiting alongside the Peachtree Group with first-priority mortgage security, an irreplaceable prime location in a university town, a minimum investment period of only 3 years, and dual qualification for both "Rural TEA" and "Urban High-Unemployment TEA". With only 25 spots available globally, interested parties should act quickly!
In addition, the "Florida Lakeside Jewish Community" EB-5 rural project, also exclusively represented by WorldWay in the Greater China region and with an approved I-956F, is another wise choice for investors looking to immigrate to the U.S. quickly. This project combines many advantages, including no backlog, priority processing, a high project employment multiplier of 5.75, first-priority mortgage security for EB-5 funds, and a minimum investment period of only 3 years, providing investors with an excellent opportunity to quickly obtain a U.S. Green Card! These high-quality rural EB-5 projects are rare, and after round after round of purchases, only a few spots remain. Good projects do not wait; interested parties must act quickly!
Investment immigration is all about choices; selecting the right project and the right professional immigration agency is key! Immigration is a comprehensive planning process, and choosing a formal, professional, reputable, and strong brand is very important! Only a capable immigration firm can truly help applicants successfully complete their immigration journey.
WorldWay Group, a top 500 Asian brand, has been rooted in Hong Kong for over 20 years and has specialized in U.S. investment immigration for 17 years. We have a professional documentation team with over 17 years of experience to ensure that the application documents for applicants and their families comply with immigration regulations. We serve our clients with loyalty and responsibility and have successfully helped thousands of families immigrate to the U.S. In 2006, WorldWay became one of the first professional immigration agencies in China to promote U.S. EB-5 investment immigration projects. We were among the first in the EB-5 industry to propose the concept of carefully selected projects and to establish a professional analyst team. We were also early advocates of the idea that U.S. EB-5 investment is primarily about project selection and treating clients with sincerity. WorldWay has repeatedly won the global "Best Immigration Agency Award" at the U.S. EB-5 Annual Conference. Our senior management has met with numerous U.S. congressmen and maintains good interactions with various U.S. legislators, governors, mayors, high-ranking government officials, and well-known figures in the EB-5 industry, making us your trusted choice for U.S. immigration!
For more details, please send us a private message in the comments section or call the WorldWay service hotline: Mainland China: 400-138-2929, Hong Kong: (852) 2802 8798
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Notes: 1. Certain conditions must be met for EB-5 funds to obtain a first-priority mortgage; please refer to the official English investment documents of the project for details. 2. This material and any content herein do not constitute an offer of any kind and are for reference only. To improve readability, the information published in this material has been excerpted and summarized. Any detailed information of a legal nature should be based solely on the English investment documents provided by the project party at the time of formal subscription. 3. Investors should make their own investment judgments and decisions based on the project's official English investment documents. Investment involves risks; please choose carefully. 4. The Regional Center for the "University Town Hilton Hotel" does not participate in the management of the project or conduct the proposed solicitation activities. The Regional Center does not provide investors for the project and does not participate in fundraising activities.