The U.S. received 236,000 H-1B petitions for 85,000 visas available under the program’s visa caps, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said Tuesday.

The visas are being distributed via a lottery, which means only about one in every three petitions will be approved.

The U.S. received 233,000 H-1B visa petitions last year, the previous record. The U.S. accepts visas on April 1 for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

If history is any guide, a majority of the demand for the visa is coming from IT services, offshore outsourcing firms.

Critics believe the high number of visas represents a form of “ballot box” stuffing by IT services firms in response to the lottery system. Applicants can apply for a visa for someone who is not an employee.

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