As anxiously awaited, USCIS has announced the initial FY2022 H-1B Cap Registration dates. Employer Electronic Registration will open on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time and continue through Thursday, March 25, 2021 until 12:00 noon Eastern Time. While it’s never advisable to wait until the last minute to register, it’s especially important to note that the H-1B Cap Registration Period ends at noon on March 25th, not at the close of business nor at midnight.
Following the same procedure as was initiated last year, registrations must be electronically entered in a myUSCIS account. USCIS will charge a $10 fee per registration. The prospective petitioner and prospective beneficiary must be indicated in the registration. An employer will only be permitted to file an H-1B petition based on a selected registration (listing both the employer and the specific prospective beneficiary). Beware that registering multiple times for the same beneficiary can result in disqualification.
When the registration period closes, if the number of employer registrations for the regular cap and advanced degree exemption exceed available numbers, USCIS will randomly select electronic registrations to determine which petitions may be filed. The agency announced yesterday that it will continue to use the existing random selection process and will delay implementation of the new wage-based selection process until December 31, 2021.
After registrants have been selected, USCIS will then issue the selection notices (i.e., notify lottery winners) via the myUSCIS account, with a goal of issuing the notifications by March 31, 2021. (Last year USCIS issued the notifications on Saturday, March 28th.) The specific filing period dates will be indicated.
Readers should be sure to seek counsel from a qualified immigration attorney to navigate the process.
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