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I have a job offer from a US tech company and they mentioned sponsoring an H-1B visa. I keep hearing about a lottery and I am confused. Can someone explain the full process — registration, selection, and what happens if I am not selected?
I am a Canadian software engineer with a job offer from a US company. My friend told me I should look at a TN visa instead of H-1B. What exactly is TN and is it better or worse than H-1B for someone in my situation?
I went through this three times before getting selected. The anxiety of waiting for lottery results every March is real. What helped me was having my employer register me on the very first day registration opens in early March — USCIS confirmed that timing does not affect lottery odds but it removes the risk of missing the window. Also look into the O-1A visa as a backup if you have strong credentials; my colleague pivoted to that after two failed H-1B lotteries and it worked out better for her in the long run.
Here is what you need to do step by step.
First, confirm your employer is willing to pay the registration fee (currently $10 per beneficiary) and file the registration in March.
Second, check if your degree qualifies as a specialty occupation for your specific role — this is where many petitions get denied, not at the lottery stage.
Third, ask your employer whether they will use premium processing ($2,805 extra) to get a decision in 15 business days if selected.
If you are not selected, immediately discuss Cap-exempt employers with your HR — universities, nonprofits, and government research organizations are exempt from the lottery entirely.
Worth adding some perspective here — the H-1B lottery has become increasingly unpredictable. In FY2025 USCIS received over 470,000 registrations for 85,000 slots, which means roughly an 18% chance of selection. Many skilled professionals are now seriously considering Canada’s Express Entry, Germany’s Opportunity Card, or the UK’s Global Talent visa as parallel paths. If you are only relying on H-1B, you may be waiting 3–5 years of lottery attempts. Have your employer explore L-1 transferability or O-1A in parallel so you are not putting everything on one outcome.