Welcome back to the Immigration Lawyer Blog, where we discuss all things immigration. In this video, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the new H-1B mandatory electronic registration system and what to expect after the mandatory registration period has closed. Keep watching for more information.
Overview:
As you know H-1B season FY 2021 is now in full swing. The new mandatory H-1B electronic registration system opened March 1, 2020 and will remain open until noon ET March 20, 2020.
Since the implementation of this new system our clients have been asking whether the system is working, whether there have been any glitches, and whether we have encountered any problems with the registration process.
So, what has happened since the system opened?
Unfortunately, during the first few days the system was open, our office encountered a few problems while registering our clients. The main problem was that the online system was locking us out and preventing us from completing our client’s registrations. Due to this, our office had to set up multiple accounts to prevent the system from locking us out in order to successfully complete the registrations.
Secondly, when registering in the system a code is supposed to be populated that is emailed to the employer for the purpose of verifying the information provided during the registration process. Our office experienced numerous problems retrieving this code, and in other cases the code provided by the system did not work altogether.
Thirdly, when the system first opened it was unable to verify that a licensed attorney is eligible to practice law in any state.
Thankfully these issues have since been fixed by USCIS.
All-in-all the system has been effective aside from these minor glitches. The system has not crashed as initially predicted and the system is now working smoothly. Our office has been able to register all clients that retained us before March 1st and we still have time to register new clients before the registration period closes on March 20.
What happens after March 20 when Registration Closes?
After the registration period closes on March 20 USCIS will begin the selection process. USCIS will notify selected registrants by March 31st via their online accounts. Selected petitioners will then have 90 days to file their H-1B visa petitions.
What are some of your predictions going forward?
We believe that demand for H-1B visas will increase this year for several reasons.
The first is economic. At the moment the country is experiencing a period of economic stability characterized by strong job growth and a continued willingness to hire foreign workers.
The second is due to increasing demand for H-1B visas amongst STEM OPT students and H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants. In the case of H-4 spouses, the government has proposed rescinding employment authorization for this class of individuals, forcing eligible spouses to turn to the H-1B visa as an alternative.
Although we predict that demand for H-1B visas will increase, we also predict that there will be an increase in denials and issuance of requests for evidence.
Demand will Continue
Since we predict that demand remains strong for H-1B visas we urge all petitioners to submit their registrations on time. The benefit of the new registration system is that if selected, petitioners are given an ample amount of time to prepare a successful petition.
If you are still interested in applying this fiscal year, it’s not too late. Contact our office for more information.
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