H-1B Cap Registration Begins on March 1, 2022

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates, subject to the annual quota, beginning on noon Eastern on March 1, 2022. The registration period will run through noon Eastern March 18, 2022.

Background
The H-1B is a temporary visa category that allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in specialty occupations that require at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent.
New H-1B petitions are subject to a yearly numerical quota or cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for employees with a U.S. master’s or doctorate degree. Because demand for H-1Bs far outpaces the supply of available visas, the immigration authorities (USCIS) conduct a random selection process or lottery.

The Rules of the Lottery Registration
·     Employers are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each employee electronically for the lottery.
·     Employers will use a registrant account. Employers will be able to create new registrant accounts beginning at noon Eastern on February 21, 2022.
·     Employers may submit only one registration per employee. If USCIS detects multiple registrations for the same employee, it will discard all registrations for that individual.
·     Employers must provide basic information about the company and the employee.
·     Employers must pay a $10 registration fee per registered candidate.
·     USCIS intends to notify employers of any selected registrants by March 31, 2022.
·     Employers may only submit H-1B petitions for cap-subject employees selected in the H-1B registration process. Selection in the H-1B registration process does not guarantee approval of the H-1B petition.

Moving Forward
We strongly recommend that all employers begin identifying whether they have any employees that will require an H-1B and, if so, prepare to register those candidates for the lottery on March 1, 2022. 

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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