USCIS announces implementation of H-1B e-registration process and registration deadline

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a notice in the Federal Register formally announcing the implementation of the H-1B registration process for FY 2021 H-1B petitions. This notice is required for the initial implementation of the registration process, as indicated in the January 31, 2019 H-1B registration final rule..

The new process will work as follows:

- The initial registration period will be March 1 through March 20, 2020 for FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations.

- U.S. employers subject to H-1B cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption seeking to file an H-1B cap petition for FY 2021, must first register electronically with USCIS.

- A fee of US$10 will be paid for each registration.

- U.S. employers or their authorized representatives must submit an electronic record for each alien for whom they are filing an H-1B petition. These are subject to the limits stipulated by the Government.

- An employer may submit only one record per beneficiary in each tax year. If a U.S. employer submits more than one record per beneficiary in the same tax year, all records submitted for the same individual will be considered invalid.

- If USCIS receives more records than it has available, it will randomly select the number of records to reach the FY202 H-1B numerical allotments. This process will occur after the close of the initial registration period.

- USCIS will notify successful registrants no later than March 31, 2020.

- U.S. employers with selected registrations will be eligible to file a petition subject to the FY202 limit, but only for the foreign national whose name appears on the registration. This must be done within the filing period indicated in the notice of eligibility.

USCIS will not consider a cap-subject H-1B petition to be properly filed unless it is based on a valid, selected registration for the same beneficiary and the appropriate fiscal year, unless the registration requirement is suspended.

- USCIS will not consider a cap-subject H-1B petition to be properly filed unless it is based on a valid record selected from the same beneficiary and the appropriate tax year, unless the registration requirement has been waived.

USCIS will provide more information about the H-1B e-registration process before the initial registration period opens.

I will keep you informed of further developments.