Last month, our attorneys told you that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has successfully completed a pilot testing phase to prepare for the new registration process for the next H-1B lottery. On January 9, 2020, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing it would be officially implementing this process for H-1B registration for fiscal year 2021 H‑1B cap-subject petitions.
USCIS said it will open the initial registration period on March 1, 2020, for the FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations. The registration period will run to March 20, 2020.
During the registration period:
- H-1B cap-subject petitioners who want to file a FY 2021 H-1B cap petition must first register electronically with USCIS. There is a$10 H-1B registration fee that must also be paid for each submission.
- Petitioners or authorized representatives have to electronically submit a separate registration naming each immigrant they plan to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for. USCIS prohibits duplicate registrations.
- According to the H-1B registration final rule, if USCIS receives more than a sufficient number of registrations, then the agency will randomly select the number of registrations projected that are necessary to reach the FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations after the initial registration period closes. Selected registrants will be notified by March 31, 2020.
- Petitioners with selected registrations can file a FY 2021 cap-subject petition only for the immigrant named in the registration. The petition must be filed within the filing period indicated on the eligibility notice.
If you want to file a cap-subject H-1B petition, it is important to know that USCIS will not consider it unless it is based on a valid, selected registration for the same beneficiary and the appropriate fiscal year. The only exception to this is if the registration requirement is suspended. While you can register multiple immigrants when you submit a petition online, you can only submit one registration per beneficiary for each fiscal year. If you attempt to submit more than one registration per beneficiary in the same fiscal year, then all registrations that you filed relating to that beneficiary for that fiscal year will be invalidated.
USCIS says it will conduct outreach activities so that users can become familiar with the new electronic registration process before it opens. Outreach activities will include in-depth webinars and a series of videos that walk attorneys and general users through the system’s processes step-by-step.
Call Our Legal Team to Learn More about the H-1B Lottery
Do you have more questions about H‑1B cap-subject petitions? If so, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated legal professionals at Verma Law Firm to discuss your situation. We proudly handle a wide range of immigration cases, and we will gladly take a look at your case and explain all of your options under the law. When you choose our attorneys to represent you, we will personally handle each aspect of your case so you can feel confident knowing your best interests are fully protected.
To schedule a case consultation with a lawyer at our firm, call (408) 560-4622 today. We are here to serve you!