Register H1B Visa Petitions First : New Proposed Rule

USCIS is proposing new H1B Visa application filing rule to avoid

• Problems related to random selection of H1B Visa Petitions
• Lower cost and burden involved for employer and USCIS

Typical H1B Petitions Process

Normally when an employer wants to file an H1B Visa on April 1, they have to prepare the application, documents and mail them on March 31. So, the application will reach USCIS on April 1 and it will be counted for Random selection when number of application received is far greater than 65,000 and 20,000 cap.

Employer has to wait for several days to know if their H1B application is selected in random selection process. If its not selected, they have wasted time and money to prepare the application. Also, USCIS is also wasted resources and time to process the petitions that are not selected in the random process. Like mailing H1B visa documents them back to the employer/attorney.

USCIS is proposing new rules that will eliminate above problems.

Registration Before Filing H1B Petitions

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposes to establish a mandatory Internet-based electronic registration process for US employers who wants to file H1B Visa petitions for workers subject to either the 65,000 or 20,000 caps.
• This Internet-based registration process would allow U.S. employers to electronically register for consideration of available H-1B cap numbers without having to first prepare and submit the petition.
• The new system will also relieve a significant administrative burden and expense from USCIS.

If employer receives notification that their H1B Visa petition is selected, then attorneys can submit the documents to USCIS to be considered for approval.

For employers that are not allocated a cap number and therefore do not ultimately file a petition, there will be a significant cost savings. Employers that are allocated a cap number and ultimately file a petition will experience the new and additional cost of filing the registration. Additionally, USCIS will incur additional costs to implement and maintain the registration system. USCIS has weighed the benefits and costs associated with this rule and determined that the benefits to society outweigh the costs.

Problems with New H1B Registration rule

1. There is a risk that a petitioner will submit multiple petitions for the same H1B beneficiary so that the U.S. employer will have a better chance of his or her petition being selected. Accordingly, should USCIS receive multiple petitions for the same H-1B beneficiary by the same petitioner, the system will only accept the first petition and reject the duplicate petitions.

New H1B Registration rule seems to better option when it saves cost and money compared to uncertainty associated with current random selection process. It would be good to know more detailed information from USCIS regarding random selection process with this registration system.  If first 65,000 will be selected or all registrations made within first week will be considered for random selection. Read more about the rule.