Washington:The H-1B visa application submission process for the fiscal year 2025 would start from March 6, a US federal agency said Tuesday as it announced a major overhaul of its annual lottery for this specialty occupation visa.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The new system, among other things, includes provision of a beneficiary-centric selection process for registrations by employers. As a result, unlike in the past of multiple applications by an individual that often resulted in abuse in fraud of the system, the H-1B visa applications would now be counted and accepted based on individual applicants. Even if one individual files multiple applications for various companies, they would be counted as one application based on their personal credentials like passport numbers.

Press Trust of India