For employers sponsoring foreign workers and for the workers themselves, few moments in the immigration calendar carry as much significance as H-1B lottery season. Knowing how to access and interpret H-1B lottery results — and understanding what each possible status means — is essential for planning the next steps, regardless of the outcome.
Who can check lottery results and where
One of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of the H-1B lottery process is that beneficiaries — the workers themselves — cannot check their own lottery status directly. Only the employer who submitted the registration, or their authorized legal counsel, can view selection results through the organization’s myUSCIS account.
Results are posted in the H-1B registrations dashboard within the employer’s myUSCIS organizational account for the relevant fiscal year. Employers with multiple entities should confirm they are logged into the correct account — the one used to submit the specific registration being checked.
To locate a specific result, the following information is generally needed:
- USCIS online account credentials for the organizational account that submitted the registration
- The beneficiary’s full legal name and date of birth
- The registration confirmation number assigned by USCIS at the time of submission
Once located, the status line will reflect the current standing of that registration in the lottery process.
What the status options mean
There are several possible statuses a registration may carry at any given point in the process. Understanding what each one means helps both employers and workers plan accordingly.
- Submitted. The registration has been properly submitted and is eligible for selection. After an initial lottery round, registrations showing this status may remain in the system for any additional selection rounds USCIS conducts to reach the annual cap.
- Selected. The employer may proceed with filing an H-1B petition for this beneficiary and role. This is the status that opens the door to the next phase of the process.
- Not selected. USCIS has completed all selection rounds for the fiscal year and this registration was not chosen. No H-1B petition may be filed for this beneficiary under the current cap cycle.
- Processing submission. USCIS is still processing the registration.
- Denied. A duplicate registration was submitted by the same employer for the same employee in the same fiscal year, or the registration contained invalid passport or travel document information.
- Invalidated. The registration was invalidated due to a payment failure.
- Deleted. The registration has been removed from the system.
For registrations showing a denied or invalidated status, consulting with an experienced immigration attorney is advisable to understand the reason and assess available options.
The difference between lottery status and petition status
It is worth distinguishing between two separate tracking phases that are sometimes confused.
Lottery registration status applies only to the selection process. An employer cannot file an H-1B petition unless a registration was submitted and subsequently selected. Once selection occurs and the full H-1B petition — Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, along with a Labor Condition Application filed with the U.S. Department of Labor — is submitted to USCIS, a receipt number is issued. That receipt number is then used to track the petition’s case status through the USCIS Case Status Online tool, separate from the registration dashboard.
What workers can do
Because beneficiaries cannot access the registration system directly, they are dependent on their employer or the employer’s legal counsel to communicate results. Workers who have not received an update may wish to reach out to their employer’s human resources department or immigration attorney to request confirmation of their registration status, along with a screenshot of the status line for their records.
It is also worth noting that a USCIS email notification does not in itself confirm selection. USCIS emails typically direct recipients to log into their account or alert them to a case update — the actual selection result must be viewed within the myUSCIS registration dashboard.
What comes next after selection
For registrations showing a selected status, the employer and their counsel should move promptly into preparing the H-1B petition. A specific filing window is set by USCIS each year, and the dates are included in the selection notice available for download from the myUSCIS account. Missing the filing window can forfeit the opportunity to petition for that fiscal year.
For registrations that are not selected, it is worth exploring alternative pathways with an immigration attorney. Depending on the worker’s current status and circumstances, options such as an OPT extension, a cap-exempt employer, or a different visa category may be worth evaluating.
The value of legal guidance
The H-1B process involves sequential deadlines, category-specific requirements, and procedural details where delays can carry meaningful consequences. Working with experienced immigration counsel helps ensure that selected registrations are converted into complete, well-supported petitions within the filing window — and that workers whose registrations are not selected have a clear picture of the options available to them.
