Creates an H-1B registration program for employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The goal of the program is to alleviate the burden on USCIS offices and employers and their counsel in preparing and filing H-1B petitions with less than a 50% chance of selection. The registration was first implemented in the FY2021 cap season. See New Registration Requirement.

Alters the selection process if the DHS receives more H-1B registrations than there are available H-1B visas. The 2019 process maximizes the likelihood that petitions for H-1B workers with a US master's or higher degree are selected under the regular cap as well as the advanced degree exemption (commonly called the master's cap). The new selection system took effect on April 1, 2019. See H-1B Cap Selection Process.

The final registration date in any fiscal year.

Any subsequent reopening or reclosing of the registration period.

May submit only one registration for the same beneficiary during a fiscal year.

Must attest to their intent to file an H-1B petition for the beneficiary in the job for which the registration is filed.

Must pay a registration fee of $10 for each registration.

USCIS first selects the number of registrations estimated to meet the regular H-1B cap from the entire pool of registrations.

Once the regular cap projected number is reached, USCIS then counts registrations for petitions that are eligible for the advanced degree exemption but were not selected under the regular cap toward the projected number needed to reach the advanced degree exemption allocation.

The economy and immigration more broadly, including the limited ability for many workers to travel internationally, are deeply impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For specific information on these matters, see Practice Note, Expert Q&A: COVID-19 and Immigration.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that USCIS had misconstrued the Occupational Outlook Handbook when evaluating an H-1B petition for a computer programmer position. As a result of this decision, the Biden administration withdrew the Trump administration's policy memorandum that rescinded longstanding guidance for evaluating H-1B petitions for computer professionals. For more, see Legal Update, USCIS Wrongly Denied H-1B Petition for Computer Programmer by Misconstruing Occupational Outlook Handbook: Ninth Circuit. Employers filing H-1B petitions for computer professionals may be able to rely on prior guidance that found computer occupations are in transition and generally considered specialty occupations.

USCIS issued new guidance for third-party placement scenarios, pointing to the H-1B regulations for the type of documents employers must submit in support of such petitions (see Legal Update, USCIS Issues New Guidance on H-1B Petitions for Workers Placed at Third-Party Worksites).

The DOL issued a final rule on January 14, 2021, that significantly increased prevailing wage rates in immigration. The rule was due to take effect on March 14, 2021, but has been delayed until May 14, 2021 with a request for additional comments (see Legal Update, DOL Issues New Final Rule Increasing Prevailing Wages for Immigration Matters). (The new rule follows a direct final rule issued on October 8, 2020, that included even higher prevailing wages and was found unlawful by several federal district courts; see Legal Update, Interim Rules on the H-1B Classification and Prevailing Wages Violate the APA: Northern District of California.)

USCIS issued a rule altering the selection criteria for H-1B cap cases to prioritize wages over a random selection system (see Legal Update, USCIS Finalizes Cap-Selection Method to Prioritize by Wage Level). The rule was due to take effect on March 9, 2021, but has been delayed until December 31, 2021 with a request for additional comments by the Biden administration (86 Fed. Reg. 8543 (Feb. 8, 2021)).