Featured Issue: H-1B Registration Tool

On January 31, 2019, USCIS issued a final rule making significant changes to the H-1B visa lottery process. The rule added an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to submit H-1B cap-subject petitions and reversed the order by which USCIS selects petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemptions. The final rule became effective on April 1, 2019, though DHS suspended the electronic registration requirement for the FY2020 cap season.

In early September, USCIS published a proposed rule that would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration they submit to USCIS for the H-1B cap selection process.

In late September, in response to a sign-on letter sent by AILA and 14 other organizations, USCIS indicated that it intends to implement the registration process for the FY2021 cap season, subject to continued testing of the system.

On Monday, November 4, 2019, Acting Director of USCIS Ken Cuccinelli stated during the SHRM Global Mobility and Immigration Symposium that he has a fairly high degree of certainty that USCIS will be ready to implement the tool for the upcoming H-1B cap season, and that he expects USCIS will make a formal announcement by the end of the year as to whether or not USCIS will move forward with the tool for this upcoming H-1B cap season.

Government Resources

• DHS Final Rule Requiring $10 Fee for H-1B Registration (84 FR 60307, 11/8/19)
  • USCIS Press Release: USCIS Implements $10 Fee for H-1B Visa Registration – November 7, 2019
• USCIS 30-Day Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Revisions to the Electronic H-1B Registration Tool (84 FR 54159, 10/9/19)
  • Screenshots of the Electronic H-1B Registration Tool
• USCIS Proposed Rule on H-1B Registration Fee (84 FR 46460, 9/4/19)
• USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to the Electronic H-1B Registration Tool (84 FR 30757, 6/27/19)
• USCIS Issues Final Rule Governing Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (84 FR 888, 1/31/19)
• USCIS Proposed Rule Adding a Registration Requirement for Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions (83 FR 62406, 12/3/18)

AILA Comments and Communications with USCIS

• AILA Submits Additional Comments on H-1B Electronic Registration Tool - November 8, 2019
• AILA Submits Comment to H-1B Registration Fee Proposed Rule – October 4, 2019
• USCIS Provides Response Regarding H-1B Registration Tool – September 30, 2019
• AILA Submits Comments to USCIS on Proposed Revisions to the H-1B Registration Tool – August 26, 2019
• Sign-On Letter to USCIS on H-1B Electronic Registration Tool – August 16, 2019
• AILA Submits Comments on USCIS Proposed H-1B Regulation – January 2, 2019

AILA Resources on H-1B Registration

• Practice Alert: USCIS Publishes Proposed H-1B Registration Fee Rule – October 4, 2019
• H-1B Cap Season FY2020: The End of an Era – May 21, 2019
• Practice Alert: DHS Publishes Final Regulation Governing H-1B Cap Subject Petitions – January 31, 2019
• AILA Explains: DHS’s Changes to the H-1B Visa Lottery Process – Impact and Concerns – January 31, 2019
• AILA Quicktake #259: DHS Publishes Final Rule on H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions – January 30, 2019
• AILA Quicktake #254: DHS Announces Proposed Rulemaking for the H-1B Visa Program – December 3, 2018
• Think Immigration: Proposed H-1B Policy Creates New Uncertainty for American Employers – December 5, 2018

Media Reports

• Mercury News: H-1B: New Registration System for Applications Coming Next Year, or Maybe Not – October 4, 2019
• Bloomberg: Next H-1B Lottery Likely to Feature Electronic Preregistration – October 4, 2019
• Forbes: USCIS May Court Disaster with Untested H-1B Visa Registration System – August 19, 2019
• Law360 (subscription required): Immigration Attys Seeks Answers on New H-1B Registration – August 19, 2019

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19102407.