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AILA Doc. No. 19102407 | Dated January 12, 2021
AILA provides a practice alert summarizing a DHS final rule published on 1/8/2021 that would replace the current random selection process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions with a wage based selection process. The rule is scheduled to take effect on 3/9/21.
AILA has received reports of members receiving rejections, denials, or administrative closures of their FY2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions because they requested a start date after 10/1/20. AILA seeks examples to determine the magnitude of the problem to gauge its liaison and litigation efforts.
On December 29, 2020, AILA provided feedback to USCIS on the H-1B electronic registration process and recommendations for improvements. AILA addressed account creation issues, duplicate registrations, selection issues, and rejections/denials for failure to list a 10/1 start date, among other things.
USCIS has confirmed that the H-1B lottery registration will be through the myUSCIS portal. Create a myUSCIS account with this step-by-step how to by AILA’s Practice & Professionalism Center. (It addresses what two-factor authentication options are and which to choose, too.) USCIS released videos with instructions on how to create a myUSCIS account and the electronic registration process for registrants as well as attorneys and representatives:
We will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020, for the FY 2021 H-1B numerical allocations.
We 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. Additionally, although petitioners can register multiple aliens during a single online submission, a petitioner may only submit one registration per beneficiary in any fiscal year. If a petitioner submits more than one registration per beneficiary in the same fiscal year, all registrations filed by that petitioner relating to that beneficiary for that fiscal year will be considered invalid.
On February 5, 2020, USCIS released the following information about registration selection notifications:
USCIS intends to notify registrants and their representatives with selected registrations via their USCIS online accounts no later than March 31, 2020.
A registrant’s USCIS online account will show one of the four following statuses for each registration:
H-1B cap-subject beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must have a “Selected” registration notification in order for a registrant or representative to properly file an H-1B cap-subject petition for FY 2021. Registrants and representatives will not be notified until the end of the fiscal year if they are not selected. The status of registrations not selected as part of any initial random selection process and not denied will remain as “Submitted.”
AILA Resources | AILA Resources on Setting Up an H-1B Registration Account | Government Resources | AILA Comments and Communication with USCIS | Media Reports
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19102407.
Discuss the new H-1B registration tool with your fellow members.
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