USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Fiscal Year 2022 Cap Season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the initial registration period for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap will open at 12 (noon) Eastern on March 9, 2021 and run through 12 (noon) Eastern on March 25, 2021.

Under this registration process, employers or their authorized representatives will be required to complete a registration for each requested worker during the registration window, providing initial information about their company and each requested worker. Employers must also pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration. The H-1B random selection process will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

USCIS indicates the agency intends to notify account holders of the results of the selection process by March 31, 2021.

D&S will post additional guidance as it becomes available.

USCIS Announces Implementation of H-1B Electronic Registration Process for Fiscal Year 2021 Cap Season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will be implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register with USCIS. USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020.

Under this new process, employers or their authorized representatives will be required to complete a registration for each requested worker during the registration window, providing initial information about their company and each requested worker. Employers must also pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration. The H-1B random selection process will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

USCIS indicates it will post step-by-step instructions on the registration process along with key dates and timelines as the initial registration period nears.

D&S will post additional guidance as it becomes available.

USCIS Publishes NPRM Outlining H-1B Lottery Pre-Registration Process

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens” that will implement an electronic pre-registration process for H-1B cap petitions wherein a full H-1B petition would be submitted only after acceptance in the pre-registration lottery. The change stems from directives in the April 2017 “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, which call for reforms to the H-1B visa program to ensure that H-1Bs go to the “most-skilled” and “highest-paid” foreign workers. The rule is aims streamline the H-1B lottery process and increase the probability of selection for H-1B beneficiaries who possess a U.S. master’s or higher degree.

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