On January 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the dates for this year’s H-1B pre-registration filing period.
The H-1B Cap Season: March 2023
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is one of the most highly utilized and sought-after temporary work visas. It facilitates the employment of foreign nationals entering the United States to perform employment in “specialty occupations,” which are occupations requiring at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent to perform temporary duties in the United States. Please note that petitioners may submit only one (1) H-1B Registration per H-1B applicant.
The H-1B visa is limited to 85,000 visa petition submissions per cap season and employment start dates occur on October 1 of each government fiscal year. H-1B visa petition submissions to USCIS may be filed up to 180 days in advance of the commencement of employment. April 1, 2023 is the first day of the year that H-1B filings for selected registrations are accepted by USCIS. However, employers may submit up to 250 H-1B beneficiaries in a single registration submission and there is no limit on the number of registrations a U.S. petitioning company may submit.
Since 2020, USCIS has implemented an H-1B pre-registration process which allows employers to register their individual H-1B submissions online for one (1) selected foreign national applicant. Multiple filings by the same employer for one foreign national will result in disqualification of the submission. More than one employer may file an H-1B petition for the same foreign national. Petitioners selected in the lottery are asked to file their H-1B visa petitions within the 90-day period that starts on April 1, 2023.
USCIS will accept pre-registration submissions between noon Eastern Standard Time on March 1, 2023 through noon Eastern Standard Time on March 17, 2023. USCIS will allow employers to register new accounts starting on February 21, 2023.
Key Dates for this Year’s H-1B Cap Submissions
- March 1, 2023: H-1B registration process opens at noon, Eastern Standard Time
- March 17, 2023: H-1B registration process closes at noon, Eastern Standard Time
- March 31, 2023: USCIS notifies H-1B registrants of selection in this year’s H-1B cap filings
- April 1, 2023: Earliest date that 2024 FY selected H-1B cap-subject petitions may be filed
How Employers Can Plan for the H-1B Cap Season
- Identify the foreign national(s) to be sponsored for H-1B visa status.
- Choose the job in a specialty occupation to be offered to the foreign national.
- Decide the salary to be offered to the foreign national.
- Assess the employee’s qualifications.
- Contact your immigration attorneys to start gathering the relevant documentation and devising a winning case strategy.
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