Selected in the H-1B lottery as an F-1 student: what happens next

What "Selected" means, and what it doesn't

USCIS lists these registration statuses: Submitted, Selected, Not Selected, Denied, Invalidated - failed payment, Deleted and Processing submission. What each one means is on the lottery guide.

• Selected is permission to file. USCIS defines it as "Selected to file an H-1B cap petition" (USCIS, H-1B Electronic Registration Process).
• It is not an approval. USCIS says "registration and selection only pertain to eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition." The petition must still "establish eligibility for petition approval" (USCIS alert, March 31, 2026).
• The notice goes to your employer. "USCIS will notify registrants and their representatives with selected registrations through their USCIS online accounts" (USCIS registration page). The registrant is your prospective employer. Ask the employer or its attorney for a copy of your selection notice.
• More than one employer. USCIS selects people, not registrations. If you are selected, "each registrant that registered for that beneficiary receives a registration selection notice and may file an H-1B cap-subject petition on their behalf" (same page).
• Master's cap. If you were selected under the master's cap, you "must be eligible for the advanced degree exemption at the time of filing Form I-129," or USCIS will deny or reject the petition (USCIS, H-1B registration FAQ).
• Filing is the employer's choice. "Registrants are not required to notify USCIS if they do not intend to file a petition for a selected registration" (same FAQ). Confirm with your employer that it plans to file, and when.

How long your employer has to file

The regulation says: "An H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed within the filing period indicated on the relevant selection notice. The filing period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days." If those requirements aren't met, "USCIS may deny or reject" the petition (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D)(3)).

Sources: USCIS registration page; USCIS alert, March 31, 2026; USCIS, H-1B Cap Season; USCIS alert, July 17, 2026.

• The end date is on your notice. The official pages checked don't publish one end date for the FY 2027 filing period. Each petition's deadline is the one on its selection notice.
• The start date. USCIS says the petition must show "a start date of Oct. 1 or later (of the applicable FY, and 6 months or less from the receipt date of the petition)," or it will be rejected or denied (USCIS, H-1B Cap Season).
• A rejected petition can be refiled at the correct location or online "as long as the petition is properly refiled during the designated 90-day filing window on your Registration Selection Notice" (same page).
• FY 2028. As of October 22, 2026, the official pages checked give no FY 2028 dates. See FY 2028 on the lottery guide.

What the petition needs from you

The employer files Form I-129, online or on paper. USCIS lists what a cap petition must include (USCIS, H-1B Cap Season, unless another source is named):

• The selection notice. "You must provide a copy of the H-1B Registration Selection Notice for the registration filed by your organization for the beneficiary with the petition." The beneficiary confirmation number goes on the H Classification Supplement.
• Matching details. The petition must have "the same identifying information and position information as provided in the selected registration," and evidence of "the beneficiary's passport or travel document used at the time of registration." If your passport expired or was replaced after registration, tell the employer. USCIS asks for documentation of both passports and an explanation of the change.
• Your degree. Evidence of your education is filed with the petition. If you've met all degree requirements but the degree hasn't been awarded, USCIS accepts "a copy of the beneficiary's final transcript" or "a letter from the registrar confirming that the beneficiary has met all of the degree requirements."
• Your F-1 papers. USCIS's preferred document order includes "Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) if the beneficiary is in the United States" and "SEVIS Form I-20 if the beneficiary is a current or former F-1 student or F-2 dependent." How to get your I-94: I-94 guide.
• Proof you'll stay in status. For a change of status, the petition "must include evidence (such as a Form I-94 or Form I-797 approval notice) to establish that the beneficiary will have maintained a valid nonimmigrant status through the employment start date being requested."
• Employer items. A certified Labor Condition Application (ETA 9035), evidence of the basis for the wage level on the registration, evidence of a bona fide position, and the fees. Fees are on the lottery guide. A presidential proclamation on a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B petitions, and the court order about it, are summarized at The $100,000 payment proclamation.

After a timely, properly filed cap petition, "the petitioner (and, if applicable, the petitioner's legal representative) will receive a Form I-797, Notice of Action, communicating receipt of the petition" (same page). That receipt notice matters for your cap-gap proof and for your employer's Form I-9 (see below). Ask for a copy.

USCIS also says premium processing "is currently available for all H-1B petitions" (same page). Whether to request it is the employer's decision.

Change of status or consular processing: the box on Form I-129

Form I-129, Part 2, Item 4, "Requested Action," says "select only one box" (Form I-129, edition 09/09/26, page 2). Two of the choices matter here:

Source for the second column: Form I-129 instructions, edition 09/09/26, page 5.

Why the box matters to an F-1 student:

• Cap-gap needs a change of status. USCIS counts a petition as timely for cap-gap only if it was filed "indicating change of status rather than consular processing" (USCIS, cap-gap). The extension also ends if the change of status request is denied or withdrawn, "even if the H-1B petition filed on the F-1 student's behalf is approved for consular processing" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vi)(B)).
• Without cap-gap. USCIS says students who don't qualify, and whose authorized stay ends before the approved start date, "are required to leave the United States. They then need to apply for an H-1B visa at a consular post abroad, if applicable, and seek to be readmitted into the United States in H-1B status for the dates reflected on the approved H-1B petition" (USCIS, cap-gap).

The petitioner chooses the box. Ask your employer's attorney which one the petition will request before it's filed, and tell your DSO.

Cap-gap if you're on OPT or STEM OPT

Cap-gap doesn't start when you're selected. USCIS says: "Once the petitioner properly and timely files a request to change status to H-1B within the fiscal year for which such status is being requested, the automatic cap-gap extension will begin" (USCIS, cap-gap).

• The rule. Your status and OPT or STEM OPT work permission are "automatically extended until April 1 of the fiscal year for which such H-1B status is being requested or until the validity start date of the approved petition, whichever is earlier" (8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vi)(A)). The petition must be timely filed, request a start date in that fiscal year, and be nonfrivolous.
• Timely filed means filed "during the applicable H-1B filing period, which begins April 1 and while the student's authorized F-1 duration of status (D/S) admission was still in effect" (USCIS, cap-gap).
• Work only if your OPT was valid at filing. A petition filed during your 60-day grace period extends your status, but USCIS says you "will not be authorized to work" (same page). Details: status vs. work permission. What the grace period allows is in The 60-day grace period after OPT.
• The last covered day. The extension runs "until" April 1, so EADly treats March 31 as the last day cap-gap can cover, or the day before an earlier approved start date. USCIS's employer handbook has employers enter "March 31" as the expiration date on Form I-9 (USCIS, M-274 section 7.4.2). The USCIS Policy Manual still says October 1; why sources differ is in the cap-gap post.
• Your proof is an updated I-20. USCIS describes two steps: give your DSO evidence of the filed petition, "such as a copy of the petition and a FedEx, UPS, or USPS Express/certified mail receipt," then return with a copy of the employer's Form I-797 receipt notice. The DSO issues an updated Form I-20 each time. USCIS adds that the updated I-20 "is not required for a student to continue working; it merely serves as proof of the extension" (USCIS, cap-gap). More: your proof.

USCIS also says students "are strongly encouraged to stay in close communication with their petitioning employer during the cap-gap extension period for status updates on the H-1B petition processing" (same page).

Fictional example: one student's dates

Fictional dates. Not your dates. Mei's program ended in May 2025. Her OPT EAD runs from June 15, 2025 to June 14, 2026. Her FY 2027 registration shows Selected in late March 2026.

If the petition is rejected, denied, revoked or withdrawn, cap-gap ends. How the 60-day grace period is then counted differs between USCIS sources: see if the petition fails.

Travel while the change of status is pending

USCIS's cap-gap page says: "However, if an F-1 student travels outside the United States while the H-1B petition and the change of status request remain pending the request for change of status will be considered abandoned." (USCIS, cap-gap)

The USCIS Policy Manual says the same: "the change of status portion of the petition is deemed abandoned," and if the petition is approved, "the student may apply for an H-1B visa from abroad" (USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Pt. F, Ch. 5).

After approval, USCIS says an F-1 student may generally travel and seek readmission in F-1 status during cap-gap if:

1. the H-1B petition and the change of status request have been approved;
2. the student seeks readmission before the change of status takes effect (normally Oct. 1); and
3. the student is otherwise admissible.

Even then, "a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer always makes the final determination on whether to admit an applicant for admission" (same USCIS cap-gap page). Documents for re-entry, and where official sources differ, are on Travel on OPT: cap-gap travel.

Before you book anything, talk to your DSO and your employer's attorney.

Your OPT unemployment days still count

Until your H-1B status starts, you're still an F-1 student, and the OPT rules still apply.

• Cap-gap days count. The Policy Manual says: "Unemployment during the cap-gap automatic extension counts toward" the 90-day (OPT) or 150-day (STEM OPT) "cumulative maximum allowed unemployment" (USCIS Policy Manual, Ch. 5). How to count those days, and a script that takes the cap-gap date as its end date: How OPT unemployment days are counted.
• Selection doesn't stop the count. Being selected, or having a petition pending, isn't employment. Days without a qualifying job still count.
• Keep reporting. Employment and address changes still go to your DSO or the SEVP Portal: SEVP Portal guide.
• STEM OPT during cap-gap. USCIS says eligible students "may apply for a STEM OPT extension during the cap-gap extension period," but not once cap-gap has ended and the 60-day grace period has started (USCIS, cap-gap). See the STEM OPT extension guide.
• Laid off after approval but before H-1B starts? The withdrawal has to reach USCIS before the change of status takes effect. Steps: the cap-gap post.

Records to keep from this stage

Check the case with its receipt number on USCIS Case Status Online and save each status change. The long-term list, from F-1 to a green card, is in Immigration records to keep and in part 3 of the cap-gap post.

Checklist after "Selected"

1. Ask your employer for a copy of the selection notice, the filing deadline on it, and whether it plans to file.
2. Ask which box the petition will request: change of status or consular processing.
3. Send what the attorney asks for: passport (the one used at registration), I-20s, I-94, EAD and degree evidence.
4. When the petition is filed, get a copy and the delivery receipt, and take them to your DSO for an updated I-20.
5. When the I-797 receipt notice arrives, take a copy to your DSO for the next updated I-20. Keep it with your EAD.
6. Don't travel abroad while the change of status is pending without advice from your DSO and the employer's attorney.
7. Keep counting unemployment days and keep reporting changes until your H-1B status starts.
8. Note the last day cap-gap can cover: March 31, or the day before an earlier approved start date.

Keeping this stage in EADly

EADly is a private, local-first app for iPhone and Android:

• Cap registrations by season, with employer and outcome, including USCIS's Submitted, Selected, Not Selected, Denied, Invalidated - failed payment and Deleted. Several attempts never overwrite each other.
• Petitions with their own dates: filed, receipt, decision and approved start. You save whether the petition requests a change of status or consular processing, and whether it's cap-subject. EADly shows cap-gap dates only for a cap-subject change-of-status petition, from the dates you save.
• A cap-gap end reminder on the last covered day.
• H-1B season in Resources: USCIS's registration rules and status wording, the petition step, and the cap-gap travel caution, each with its source.
• I-797A and I-797B kept apart. EADly never treats an I-797B as an I-94.
• USCIS receipts. Saved receipt numbers open the official USCIS Case Status page. EADly doesn't fetch or monitor case status.
• OPT/STEM OPT unemployment counter, from the EAD dates and jobs you save. EADly Free saves every F-1 job. The counter stops at your OPT or STEM OPT EAD end date (or the end of a pending STEM OPT period) and doesn't count cap-gap days; for those, use the script linked above or ask your DSO.

Cap registration and petition records are free, and EADly Free keeps one H-1B job record per petition period. EADly Free also holds one Vault document; EADly Plus adds more documents, trips and other records. It's a free download.

What it doesn't do: EADly doesn't register you, file a petition, decide whether cap-gap applies, or tell you whether travel is safe. It isn't a law firm.

Get EADly on the App Store or Google Play.

Common questions

Sources

All checked October 22, 2026 (PT). The date in brackets is the date each page showed.

• USCIS, H-1B Electronic Registration Process: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/h-1b-electronic-registration-process [last reviewed 09/21/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, H-1B Cap Season: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations-and-fashion-models/h-1b-cap-season [last reviewed 09/21/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, H-1B Electronic Registration Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations/h-1b-electronic-registration-frequently-asked-questions [last reviewed 09/21/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS alert, FY 2027 H-1B Initial Registration Selection Process Completed: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/fy-2027-h-1b-initial-registration-selection-process-completed [released and last reviewed 03/31/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS alert, USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2027 H-1B Cap: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-reaches-fiscal-year-2027-h-1b-cap [released and last reviewed 07/17/2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(D) and (f)(5)(vi), eCFR as of Sept 14, 2026: https://www.ecfr.gov/on/2026-09-14/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/subpart-A/section-214.2 [the (h)(8)(iii)(D) text is identical in the eCFR version of Oct 14, 2026, where the cap-gap paragraph is renumbered (f)(5)(vii) by the July 17, 2026 rule that a court postponed; USCIS says it is following the previous provisions: https://www.uscis.gov/i-765; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Extension of Post-Completion OPT and F-1 Status for Eligible Students (cap-gap): https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-1b-specialty-occupations/extension-of-post-completion-optional-practical-training-opt-and-f-1-status-for-eligible-students [last reviewed 01/17/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Pt. F, Ch. 5: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-2-part-f-chapter-5 [current as of October 2, 2026; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274, 7.4.2 F-1 and M-1 Nonimmigrant Students: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/70-evidence-of-employment-authorization-for-certain-categories/74-exchange-visitors-and-students/742-f-1-and-m-1-nonimmigrant-students [last reviewed 04/02/2025; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-129.pdf [edition 09/09/26, Part 2, Item 4, page 2; the Form I-129 page, last reviewed 10/07/2026, says USCIS also accepts the 02/27/26 edition until Nov. 9, 2026: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Instructions for Form I-129: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-129instr.pdf [edition 09/09/26, page 5, "Requested Action"; the posted PDF carries a "Draft – Not for Production 05/06/2026" watermark on each page; checked October 22, 2026]
• USCIS, Case Status Online: https://egov.uscis.gov/ [checked October 22, 2026]

This article summarizes official U.S. government sources and is not legal or immigration advice. EADly is not a law firm and is not affiliated with USCIS or DHS.

More guides

• H-1B lotteryRegistration, statuses and petition basics
• F-1 to H-1B: cap-gap and the grace periodBlog: status vs. work permission and the records to keep
• Travel on OPTCap-gap travel and re-entry documents
• H-1B trackerRegistrations, petitions, I-797 and I-94 records