Search results for: h-1b cap

On April 28, 2023, USCIS released the highly anticipated numbers relating to this year’s H-1B cap registration held in March. Considering the low acceptance rate reported by most employers, it was expected that USCIS received many more registrations this year than last. However, it was not expected that USCIS would include within its announcement allegations of potential misconduct on behalf of some companies submitting H-1B lottery registrations.

Specifically, USCIS received 780,884 total H-1B lottery registrations for FY 2024, compared to 483,927 for FY 2023. Of the total registrations, 408,891 (more than half) were eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple eligible registrations, compared to last year’s 165,180. USCIS attributes the significant increase in registrations to several dozen small technology companies that submitted multiple registrations for the same 96,000 individuals, an act USCIS has asserted was inappropriate collusion between the companies: “Based on evidence from the FY 2023 and FY 2024 H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions accordingly, and is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution.” USCIS continued, “USCIS is committed to implementing the law and helping meet the ever-changing needs of the U.S. labor market. We are working on an upcoming H-1B modernization rule that will propose, among other improvements, bolstering the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration system.”

The electronic H-1B cap registration program was initially implemented for FY 2021 as a solution to the countless hours and money that employers and their agents spent preparing voluminous filings increasingly only accepted by USCIS within a work-week window. For at least five years prior to FY 2021, the H-1B cap was reached within the first five business days of April, leaving employers and their attorneys spending the months of January, February, and March in a mad dash to ensure their filings were ready for filing on April 1; filings that had significant potential of being returned after not being selected in USCIS’ paper-based lottery system.

Given this most recent outcome, Congress should note that another USCIS program has significant flaws and act to reform U.S. immigration laws. Without change, the United States may well find itself lacking qualified, willing workers in many industries. 

Greenberg Traurig Immigration & Compliance Practice Shareholders Dillon R. Colucci and Agnes Cha Rudinsky will present a webinar on the recently-concluded H-1B visa cap season May 4 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

The H-1B visa petition cycle is a period for employers seeking to hire specialized foreign workers and other targeted immigrant labor. This year’s cycle featured fewer approvals than anticipated, leaving many U.S. employers, as well as would-be employees around the world, wondering what changed this year, why, and what other options exist to unite qualified global talent with interested U.S. enterprises.

This webinar will dive into these questions, exploring factors that impacted this past H-1B cap season and offering insights on what may lie ahead for employers and employees – including other legal roads to connect with global talent.

Jason Rogers, Vice President of Senior Global Immigration Counsel at Newland Chase, will join as a guest presenter.

Click here to register.

On Jan. 27, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the FY 2024 H-1B cap initial registration period will be open from March 1, 2023, 12:00 p.m. ET to March 17, 2023, 12:00 p.m. ET. 

The H-1B registration process will follow a similar process as prior years. H-1B cap-subject petitioners and their representatives are required to create and use a myUSCIS online account to register and pay the required $10 registration fee for each beneficiary. Each organization must have a myUSCIS online account for each entity that will sponsor beneficiaries.

The USCIS also has indicated that if it receives more than the requisite number of registrations by March 17, it will hold a random selection and plans to notify myUSCIS account holders by March 31. Those with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which will include details about when and where to file the H-1B petition.

As a reminder, the following information is required for each proposed beneficiary to submit the registration:

  • Beneficiary’s full name, as it appears on their passport
  • Beneficiary’s date of birth and country of birth
  • Beneficiary’s passport number and country of citizenship
  • Confirmation whether the beneficiary is eligible for the U.S. advanced degree cap. A beneficiary is eligible for the U.S. advanced degree cap if they will obtain the advanced degree by the time the H-1B petition is filed with USCIS.

The earliest day a selected FY 2024 H-1B petition will be accepted by USCIS is April 1, 2023. Petitioners will have a 90-day period to submit petitions. Beneficiaries of successful FY 2024 H-1B petitions will be eligible to begin working in the United States on Oct. 1, 2023. It is recommended to prepare and file supporting Labor Condition Applications with the Department of Labor as soon as possible to ensure that selected FY 2024 H-1B petitions can be timely filed with USCIS.

The USCIS has yet to confirm if it will accept Premium Processing requests for FY 2024 H-1B petitions.

The USCIS notice regarding the FY 2024 H-1B cap initial registration period can be found at H-1B Electronic Registration Process.

Please join GT Immigration & Compliance Practice Shareholders Kate Kalmykov and Nataliya Rymer, along with global immigration services provider Newland Chase, for a timely webinar titled “Preparing for the FY 2024 H-1B Cap Selection Process” Feb. 1, 2023 at 1 p.m. EST.

USCIS has confirmed the FY 2024 H-1B cap initial registration period will open March 1, 2023. Beneficiaries of successful FY 2024 H1B petitions will be eligible to start working in the United States Oct. 1, 2023.

The presenters will discuss common questions that may arise when registering for H-1B visas regarding:

  • Registration Process
  • Requirements
  • Electronic Registration Process

Click here to register for the event.

The USCIS has confirmed that the FY 2022 H-1B cap initial registration period will be open from March 9, 2021, 12:00 p.m. EST to March 25, 2021, 12:00 p.m. EST.

The USCIS has further confirmed that the H-1B registration process and, if needed, a subsequent lottery will follow the same process as instituted for FY 2021. This means that H-1B cap-subject petitioners and their representatives are required to create and use a myUSCIS online account to register and pay the required $10 registration fee for each beneficiary. Each organization must have a myUSCIS online account for each entity that will sponsor beneficiaries.

The USCIS has also indicated that if it receives more than the requisite amount of registrations by March 25, it will hold a random selection and plans to notify myUSCIS account holders by March 31. USCIS has delayed the implementation of a final rule, which would base the H-1B selection process on wage levels.

As a reminder, the following information is required for each proposed beneficiary to submit the registration:

  • Beneficiary’s full name, as it appears on their passport
  • Beneficiary’s date of birth and country of birth
  • Beneficiary’s passport number and country of citizenship
  • Confirmation whether the beneficiary is eligible for the U.S. advanced degree cap. A beneficiary is eligible for the U.S. advanced degree cap if they will obtain the advanced degree by the time the H-1B petition is filed with USCIS.

The earliest day a selected FY 2022 H-1B petition will be accepted by the USCIS is April 1, 2021. Petitioners will have a 90-day period to submit petitions. It is recommended to prepare and file supporting Labor Condition Applications with the Department of Labor as soon as possible to ensure that selected FY 2022 H-1B petitions can be filed with USCIS timely.

The USCIS has yet to confirm if and when it will accept Premium Processing requests for FY 2022 H-1B petitions.

The USCIS notice regarding the FY 2022 H-1B cap initial registration period can be found here: H-1B Electronic Registration Process

Per its announcement on June 7, USCIS started accepting premium processing requests for all remaining FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions on June 10, 2019. This allows petitioners to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service with the service center processing their cap-subject H-1B petition. Previously, USCIS accepted premium processing requests only for FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status.

On March 19, USCIS announced it would offer premium processing requests in a two-phase approach for the FY 2020 cap season to “best manage the premium processing requests without fully suspending it as in previous years.” The first phase allowed premium processing for FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status. The second phase now allows premium processing for all other FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions.

Initially starting April 1, FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitioners requesting a change of status on their Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker could request premium processing by concurrently filing Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service with the petition. However, USCIS would not begin premium processing for these petitions until May 20, 2019. Petitioners who did not file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service concurrently with an FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petition requesting a change of status had to wait until premium processing began on May 20 to submit Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

Prepaid Mailer Temporary Suspension:

From June 10 to June 24, USCIS will not use prepaid self-addressed return mailers to return final notices for premium processing for FY 2020 cap-subject petitions that do no request a change of status. USCIS claims “using pre-paid mailers requires a separate and more time-consuming manual process” while use of “regular mailer is fully automated.”

For more on H-1B petitions, click here.

On May 17, USCIS announced completion of data entry for all fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in its computer-generated random selection process. USCIS will now begin returning petitions that were not selected. USCIS will issue another announcement once it has finished returning all petitions that were not selected. As has been the case in the past, due to the high volume of petitions received, USCIS cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of their cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition.

As also has happened in the past, USCIS may transfer some Form I-129 H-1B cap subject petitions between the Vermont Service Center and the California Service Center to balance the distribution of cap cases. If a case is transferred, the employer should receive notification in the mail and should direct all future correspondence to the center processing the petition.

Because premium processing for 2020 H-1B cap subject petitions was available for certain petitions, USCIS will begin issuing decisions or requests for evidence on those petitions filed via premium processing. Hopefully, this will alleviate the processing time delays that plagued last year’s H-1B cap subject adjudications, some of which were not adjudicated until around Spring 2019. Anyone who has not filed a request for premium processing of their H-1B cap subject petition may now file such request.

For more on H-1B petitions, click here.

On April 10, 2019, USCIS announced it used a computer-generated random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated regular cap and U.S. advance degree exemption (Master’s cap) for fiscal year (FY) 2020.

USCIS received 201,011 petitions during the filing period, which began April 1, including petitions filed for the advanced degree exemption. On April 5, USCIS announced it had received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-1B regular cap of 65,000 visas. After completing the random selection process for the regular cap, USCIS also determined it had received a number of petitions projected as sufficient to meet the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. Master’s cap.

In accordance with the new H-1B regulation, USCIS first conducted the selection process for H-1B cap-subject petitions submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those who may have been eligible for the Master’s cap. USCIS then selected a number projected to reach the advanced degree exemption from the remaining eligible petitions. USCIS will reject and return all unselected petitions with their filing fees unless the petition is a prohibited multiple filing.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for concurrent H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2020 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:

  • Extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
  • Change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
  • Allow current H-1B workers to change employers; and
  • Allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

For additional updates, H-1B applicants may subscribe to the H-1B Cap Season email located on the H-1B FY 2020 Cap Season page.

For more on H-1B petitions, click here.

˘ Not admitted to the practice of law.

Premium Processing Available

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting cap-subject H-1B petitions on April 1, 2019, for employment start dates effective Oct. 1, 2019, the start of the 2020 fiscal year. Rather than suspending premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions, USCIS announced that it will implement a two-phased approach to requests for premium processing during this year’s H-1B cap season:

  • Phase one: Only H-1B change of status petitions (i.e. F-1 to H-1B, TN to H-1B, etc.) may be premium processed under this year’s cap.
  • Phase two: USCIS will not commence premium processing of these cap-subject petitions immediately. USCIS said it will make an announcement, most likely after it has completed the lottery selection process during the second week of April, as to when it will start reviewing affected petitions under the 15-day premium processing service. USCIS expects the premium processing service for affected petition to start no later than May 20, 2019.

Premium processing for all other FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions will be announced at a later date, but not before June 2019. USCIS’ premium processing service provides expedited processing of an H-1B petition within fifteen calendar days for an additional government filing fee of $1,410.

Changes to H-1B Cap Selection Process

As previously announced on our blog, USCIS will be reversing the order by which it selects H-1B petitions under the regular cap and the advanced degree cap for beneficiaries who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution. Instead of first selecting 20,000 petitions under the U.S. master’s cap, the regular cap of 65,000 will be selected first. This should increase the number of petitions selected for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s degree or higher, which is a goal of the current administration. USCIS estimates that the change will result in an increase of up to 16 percent in the number of selected petitions for beneficiaries with a U.S. master’s or higher degree.

New H-1B Data Hub

Effective April 1, 2019, a new H-1B Employer Data Hub will be available on uscis.gov that will allow the public to search for H-1B petitioners by a variety of inputs. USCIS has stated that the data will increase transparency in the H-1B program and allow the public to calculate approval and denial rates. The Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), which administers the Labor Condition Application (LCA) for the H-1B program, already releases data on a quarterly basis, but this does not include data on ultimate petition approval or denial by USCIS. Please continue to monitor GT’s Inside Business Immigration Blog for additional updates regarding the new H-1B data.

Finally, please initiate any H-1B cap cases as soon as possible as time is running out.  GT expects the H-1B cap to close at the end of business on April 5, 2019 and, thereafter, will remain closed until April 1, 2020 when next year’s cap opens.

For more on H-1B petitions, click here.

˘ Law clerk/JD