On December 6, 2019, USCIS announced that they will be implementing the H-1B registration system that requires employers to register who want to file cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021. The filing period for H-1B petitions will begin on April 1, 2020, for FY 2021.
It is anticipated that USCIS will use its myUSCIS online portal for this registration process. From what we know so far, the employer would need to provide the following information when registering:
- Legal business name
- The Doing Business As name, if applicable
- Employer EIN
- Primary U.S. office location address
- Legal name, title, and contact information of the authorized signatory
For the prospective H-1B employee, the following information would be required (from what we know so far):
- Legal name
- Date of birth
- Country of birth
- Passport number
- Gender
- If the beneficiary has a master’s or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education making him/her eligible for the advanced degree exemption
No information about the position that the beneficiary would be hired for would be needed, but for us attorneys, it would be important to know what the position is to make sure it could qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation.
A requirement for filing an H-1B petition is having a Labor Certification Application certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. This will not be required to be certified prior to registering, but it may be a good idea to do so depending on the circumstances.
Attorneys will be able to submit electronic registrations for their clients. The registration period will open from March 1, 2020 – March 20, 2020, and there is a $10.00 fee that is paid by the employer.
Sometime after the registration period closes, USCIS will conduct the lottery and notify all employers that properly registered if they have been selected. If an employer is selected, they will have 90 days (but it may be longer at the discretion of USCIS) from the date of the selection to file a complete H-1B file with USCIS.
As with any new procedure or system that is implemented, there will tweaks and adjustments that will need to be made, and we should know more as the time gets closer.
