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USCIS Proposes a New H1B Visa 'Advance-Registration' System for
US Employers who File Visas in 2011 and Beyond
March 2, 2011

The USCIS states the new system could save U.S. Companies $23 million, and eliminate the need for future lottery based selection of visas being issued.

Currently there is an annual quota of H1B visas (85,000) that can be applied for and issued during each Fiscal year (only the first 85,000 H1B applications can be issued visas each year).

Each year the USCIS starts to accept H1B visa applications from April 1st onwards.

In some previous years there have been more applications filed in the first few week of April, than there were visas available for the entire annual quota.

During those previous years, because a higher number of visas were filed versus available - the USCIS introduced a lottery selection system to determine which of the applications would be issued and counted towards the 85,000 annual allowance.

The new proposed rule would eliminate 'over-quota' applications being able to be filed this year and in future years, and therefore eliminate the need for lottery selection, and the costs associated in filing and processing the over-quota applications.


The new rule would mean that H1B employers and sponsoring companies in the USA could soon see the implementation of an 'advance-registration' system for H1B visa applications that they want to file, on behalf of foreign nationals they want to employ in H1B specialty occupations.

The proposed new electronic system for advance registrations would minimize administrative burdens and expenses related to the H1B visa application and petitioning process.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas today announced the opening of a 60-day "comment period" that will allow businesses and the general public to provide input on the proposed system in order to ensure it best meets the needs of US employers that rely on H1B visas to bring in foreign workers for specialty occupations.

“The proposed rule would create a more efficient and cost-effective process for businesses interested in bringing workers in specialty occupations to the United States,” he said. “Improving the H1B petition process is part of USCIS’s ongoing efforts to leverage new ideas and innovation to streamline our operations and enhance customer service.”

Under the proposed rule, US employers seeking to petition for H1B workers subject to the statutory cap (annual quota) would register electronically with USCIS—a process that would take an estimated 30 minutes to complete.

Before the H1B visa petition filing period begins, USCIS would select the number of total registrations 'projected' to exhaust the total number of available visas for the annual quota. Employers would then file petitions for the selected registrations that would be able to get issued an H1B visa.

The new proposed H1B filing registration system would save employers the effort and expense of filing and paying for complete H1B visa petitions, as well as Labor Condition Applications, for workers who would be unable to obtain visas if the annual quota numbers were filled early in any future years.


The implementation of this new rule will create added importance and urgency to file H1B visa applications as early as possible during the H1B filing season: which starts on April 1st each year, and continues until all the available visas have been issued against the annual quota numbers (which currently stands at 85,000)



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