# The H-1B visa lottery — Paths

> The H-1B work visa is capped at 85,000 a year. In 2024 more than 758,000 people registered; an individual's chance of selection was about 12–15%. In 2025 the odds rose to about 25%. Same qualification, same offer, different year, different draw.

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Outcome variance 2020–2025 Draw

# The H-1B visa lottery

Same job offer, same degree. A random draw decides whether the worker can stay.

**12–15%** selection odds in the 2024 lottery

## What they did

A foreign worker has a U.S. job offer, meets the skill rules, and the employer registers them. Many already hold U.S. degrees and years of experience.

## What they did not choose

Congress set the cap in 1990 at 65,000, plus 20,000 for advanced degrees from 2004, and has not raised it. Registrations grew from about 274,000 in 2021 to 780,000 in 2024. Selection is random. A worker in 2025 had roughly double the 2024 odds. Those not selected leave, wait another year, or watch the employer move the role abroad.

## Figures

- Annual cap: 65,000 regular plus 20,000 master's cap (1990 / 2004).

- 2024: 758,994 registrations, about 12–15% selected (USCIS / American Visa Law Group).

- 2025: about 479,953 registrations, about 25.13% selected (Nadia Yakoob & Associates / USCIS).

- 2021: about 274,237 registrations, about 44–46% selected. The same person had roughly three times the chance four years earlier.

## Limit

Qualifying is earned. Being drawn is not. Preparation does not control the draw, and the draw compounds across a working life.

## Sources

- [Nadia Yakoob & Associates — FY2025 H-1B registration numbers](https://nadiayakooblaw.com/blog/2024/5/6/nearly-500000-h-1b-lottery-registrations-submitted-in-march-2024)

- [American Visa Law Group — How the H-1B lottery works](https://www.usavisalaw.com/immigration-blog/how-the-h1b-visa-lottery-works-and-tips-to-increase-your-chances-american-visa-law-group)

- [VisaVerge — H-1B lottery odds and quotas](https://www.visaverge.com/h1b/h-1b-visa-lottery-odds-and-immigration-quotas-for-work-visas/)

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