Immigration Lawyer Blog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZ6U-Wasd4
The H-1B cap season is now in full swing. Electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B work visa lottery opened on March 6th and will close at noon eastern time on March 22nd.
If you want to know how you can prepare for the upcoming lottery and learn about the recent changes made to the program, we invite you to watch our video.
Overview
The H-1B visa program is one of the most common work visas for professionals seeking to work for U.S. employers in specialty occupations that require a bachelor’s degree or the foreign equivalent. Every year, during the month of March, 65,000 H-1B work visas are up for grabs, and an additional 20,000 visas are available for those holding a U.S. advanced degree (master’s degree or higher from accredited U.S. institutions of higher education).
Those who wish to have a chance of being selected must submit an online electronic registration before the deadline of March 22nd. Once the registration period has closed, USCIS will select enough registrations to meet the annual H-1B visa cap from the pool of applicants who have registered.
About the Electronic Registration System
The online electronic registration system was first introduced by USCIS in 2019 to streamline the H-1B selection process, without requiring U.S. employers to first submit complete paper filings by mail.
The electronic registration process allows U.S. employers and their prospective employees to first compete for the limited number of H-1B visas available, and once selected U.S. employers can submit complete filings to USCIS on behalf of the foreign worker.
New Changes to the H-1B Electronic Registration Program – Beneficiary’s Valid Passport or Travel Document Information Required
Pursuant to a new final rule published in the Federal Register known as “Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity,” USCIS has made important changes to the way beneficiaries are selected in the H-1B visa lottery moving forward.
These changes include a new system designed to combat fraud that involves selecting registrations by individual beneficiary.
As part of the new fraud prevention protocols, the electronic registration process will now require beneficiaries to provide their valid passport information or valid travel document information. The passport or travel document provided must be the one the beneficiary, if or when abroad, intends to use to enter the United States if issued an H-1B visa. Each beneficiary can only be registered under one passport or travel document to participate in the electronic registration process.
If a beneficiary is selected, each registrant that submitted a registration on that beneficiary’s behalf will be notified of the beneficiary’s selection and will be eligible to file an H-1B petition for that beneficiary during the applicable petition filing period.
This new system will create a level playing field so that beneficiaries have an equal chance of being selected, no matter how many registrations have been submitted on their behalf.
Organizational Accounts and Online Filing of H-1B Petitions Available April 1st
USCIS has rolled out new organizational accounts on the USCIS website which allow multiple people within a company and legal representatives to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions, and any associated Form I-907.
Organizational accounts are required to participate in the H-1B Electronic Registration Process starting this year.
Beginning April 1st USCIS will begin accepting the online filing of H-1B cap petitions on organizational accounts for petitioners whose registrations have been selected in the H-1B lottery.
Petitioners may also file a paper application instead of submitting applications online. However, during the initial launch of organizational accounts, users will not be able to link paper-filed Forms I-129 and I-907 to their online accounts.
Validity of Approved H-1B Visas
As a reminder, even after an H-1B beneficiary is selected and subsequently approved for H-1B visa status, the actual start date of H-1B petitions is October 1st. Accordingly, a beneficiary’s H-1B status cannot become effective until October 1st. Beneficiaries must maintain a separate nonimmigrant status in the U.S. until the H-1B visa becomes effective, or make arrangements to depart the U.S. and apply for your visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy overseas.
Conclusion
We hope that you found this information helpful and wish you the best of luck this H-1B cap season. For more information, please check out our helpful links below.
Contact Us. If you would like to schedule a consultation, please text 619-569-1768 or call 619-819-9204.
Helpful Links
- H-1B Cap Season Webpage
- H-1B Electronic Registration Process
- Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions
- USCIS Announces Strengthened Integrity Measures for H-1B Program
- USCIS to Launch Organizational Accounts, Enabling Online Collaboration and Submission of H-1B Registrations
- Information about the H-1B Visa
- USCIS Announces Inflation Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees
- Final Rule: Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity
- The Department of State Will Officially Launch the Domestic Visa Renewal Pilot Program for H-1B Nonimmigrants in the United States starting January 29th
- USCIS Processing Times
- ImmigrationLawyerBlog
- ImmigrationU Membership
- Success stories
- Youtube channel
JOIN OUR NEW FACEBOOK GROUP
Need more immigration updates? We have created a new facebook group to address the impact of the new executive order and other changing developments related to COVID-19. Follow us there.
For other COVID 19 related immigration updates please visit our Immigration and COVID-19 Resource Center here.