Registration, RFEs, transfers, cap-gap
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Check my risk score →No judgment, just planning. Are you leaning on STEM OPT runway, looking at cap-exempt roles, considering O-1, or starting an NIW case? Sharing your situation helps others spot options they had not considered.
A lottery miss is not the end of your US career. Common backups: another year on STEM OPT if you have runway, cap-exempt employers such as universities and affiliated nonprofits that can file H-1B any time, the O-1 for those with strong records, and the self-petition green cards, EB-2 NIW and EB-1A, which need no employer and no lottery. The NIW path surprises people because you can start building it right now. Which backup are you weighing?
Employers register beneficiaries in a short spring window and pay the registration fee. Selection is a random lottery when registrations exceed the cap of 65,000 regular plus 20,000 for US master degrees. The beneficiary-centric approach means each person is entered once regardless of how many employers register them, which cut down on gaming. Being selected only means the full petition can be filed, not that it is approved. What is your read on this cycle?
If you have a timely-filed, cap-subject H-1B petition requesting a change of status, and your OPT is still valid when it is filed, cap-gap can automatically extend your F-1 status and, in many cases, work authorization through September 30, bridging you to the October 1 H-1B start. If your OPT already expired when the petition was filed, you may get a status extension but not work authorization. Timing is everything. Did cap-gap cover you this year?
