USCIS Publishes Proposed Rule to Charge $10 fee for H-1B Registration for Cap Cases
September 4, 2019
Today the USCIS published a Proposed Rule to charge $10 per H-1B registration for cap-subject H-1B petitions. There will be a 30 day comment period for this proposed rule.
It is not clear whether the $10 fee, if the rule is finalized, will apply to the Fiscal Year 2021 lottery which begins April 1, 2020 or even if the technology for registration will be in place. Earlier this year the USCIS published a Final Rule implementing the new H-1B registration process for cap-subject cases, but suspended the registration for Fiscal Year 2020 cases because the technology for the online registration system was not in place or tested.
According to the Proposed Rule, the USCIS will use the fees collected from the $10 registration to offset the costs of building the technology.
The H-1B registration rule indicated that the USCIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register to announce when the H-1B registration process will take effect. Once implemented, USCIS will announce the start of the electronic registration period at least 30 days in advance. For selected registrations, employers will be given 90 days (up from the 60 days in the Proposed Rule) to file the H-1B petitions.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and several other organizations have asked the USCIS to confirm by September 15, 2019 whether the electronic registration system will be mandatory for the Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B cap season, to allow employers sufficient time to prepare for the new process.
If you have any questions about the H-1B lottery process, please contact Weaver Schlenger.
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