DHS To Change H-1B Lottery System February 2024

Friday, February 2, 2024, will see a change to the H-1B Lottery system. To strengthen the fairness and integrity of the H-1B registration process, the US Department of Homeland Security will formally publish a final regulation in the Federal Register. No matter how many H-1B registrations are filed for a foreign national, the H-1B registration process is changing and won’t boost that person’s chances of being chosen in the H-1B Lottery.

There will be a few more changes to the program in the final also rule. This regulation will be implemented. H-1B registration will be open from March 6, 2024, through March 22, 2024, for the forthcoming fiscal year 2025.

Summary of Key Provisions in Final Rule

1. Single Entry in Lottery

The registration process will function just as it has in the past years. It will still be necessary for registrants to submit individual electronic registrations for every cap-subject H1B candidate that their organization wishes to sponsor in the upcoming fiscal year.

As previously, a single US employer may submit registrations on behalf of multiple people. No matter how many registrations are made for that specific person, the foreign national will only be allowed to enter the lottery system once under the new rule.

2. Valid Passport or Travel Document Required

The new lottery mechanism is linked to the foreign national’s passport or travel document and is beneficiary-centric. Every foreign national will need to have a current passport or travel document to better ensure that no one enters the lottery more than once.

Additionally, the final rule forbids an H-1B registration beneficiary from having several passports or travel documents registered under them.

3. All Registrants Notified if Beneficiary is Selected

All registrants who filed a registration for a specific beneficiary will be notified if that beneficiary is chosen. Following that, each of those registrants will have the opportunity to submit an H1B petition for the beneficiary during the filing window.

4. Flexible Start Date

Although the petitioner must request an October 1 start date for picks made in the lottery’s first round, the final rule also allows for flexibility in the petition’s suggested start date. Requests for any start date of the applicable fiscal year, up to six months after the petition’s filing date, are now routinely allowed.

5. No Fee Increase Yet

For the H-1B registration period in FY 2025, the $10 registration filing fee will not change. In April 2024, the DHS will raise almost all filing fees, including the registration charge for H-1B workers. Next year, each registration will cost $215 in registration fees.

USCIS Announces Final Rule for FY 2025 – USCIS H-1B Program

For the H-1B program, USCIS introduces improved Integrity procedures. To improve the integrity and lower the possibility of fraud in the H1B registration process, USCIS has released a final regulation. Consequently, by lowering the possibility of systemic manipulation and guaranteeing that every beneficiary has an equal opportunity to be chosen, irrespective of the number of registrations filed on their behalf,

Along with the availability of an online filing option for form I-129 petition for a non-immigrant worker and form I-907 request for premium processing service for H1B petitioners, USCIS is also revealing the dates of the beginning registration period for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap.

USCIS Director Ur Jaddou stated that USCIS is constantly seeking methods to strengthen integrity, reduce the possibility of fraud, and enhance and expedite our application procedures. These enhancements will enable the H1B process to be entirely electronic, from registration, if appropriate, to the final determination and transmission of petitions that are granted to the Department of State. This should make H1B selections more equitable for petitioners and beneficiaries.

H-1B Registration Final Rule

This final rule includes provisions that will codify start date flexibility for those petitions subject to the congressionally required H-1B cap, add further registration process integrity safeguards, and provide a beneficiary-centric selection procedure for companies registering.

Instead of selecting registrations, the Beneficiary Centric Process will identify unique beneficiaries. The purpose of this new procedure is to lessen the possibility of fraud and guarantee that every beneficiary will have an equal chance of being chosen regardless of how many registrations are made on their behalf by an employer.

FY 22 Initial Registration Period

For each beneficiary, the USCIS will ask the registrant to submit information from a valid passport or travel document. If the recipient is granted an H-1B Visa, they must utilize the passport or travel document that was submitted if and when they plan to enter the United States. The registration of each beneficiary under a single passport or travel document is required.

To allow filings with requested start dates that are after October 1st of the relevant fiscal year, USCIS is further clarifying restrictions surrounding the intended employment start date on certain petitions subject to the congressionally required H-1B cap.

The H-1B final rule formalizes USCIS’s authority to reject or cancel H-1B petitions in cases where the underlying registration was void or contained a fraudulent attestation. According to the new regulation, USCIS has the authority to refuse or cancel the approval of an H1B petition if it finds that the registration fee was rejected, was not reconciled, was contested, or was otherwise improper after the petition was submitted.

USCIS Fee Schedule

Additionally, USCIS released the final rule for the fee structure. Following the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap, that rule will become operative. During the registration term that begins in March 2024, the registration fee will stay at $10. Soon, a new version of form I-129 with the final rules for H-1B registration and the fee schedule will be previewable on USCIS.

Only the form I-129 with the January 4, 2024, date will be accepted as of April 1, 2024. The final regulation for H1B registration finalizes several aspects that were suggested on October 23, 2023.

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

To handle the remaining provisions in the NPM FY 2025 H-1B cap, DHS plans to release a separate final rule.

Initial Registration Period

Beginning on March 6, 2024, at noon Eastern time, and ending on March 22, 2024, at noon Eastern time is the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H1B cap. To electronically register each beneficiary for the selection process during this time, prospective petitioners and their agents (if any) must use a USCIS online account and pay the registration fee for each beneficiary.

Organizational Accounts and Online Filing for Forms I-129 and I-907

The previously announced new organizational accounts in the USCIS online account, which will enable many individuals inside an organization and their legal representatives to work on and prepare H1B registrations, will be launched by USCIS on February 28, 2024.

H-1B Petitions and Any Associated Form I-907

In addition, the USCIS will begin accepting online applications for non-cap H-1B petitions on February 28. These forms are I-129 and associated I-907. USCIS will start taking online petitions for the H1B cap and related forms i907 for petitioners with selected registrations on April 1.

Petitioners will still be able to submit any associated form I-907 as well as paper form I-129 H1B petitions if they so want. It will not be possible for users to link paper-filed forms I-12 9 and I-907 to their online accounts during the initial rollout of organizational accounts.

With effect from February 26, 2024, the USCIS final rule will raise the form I-907 filing fee to account for inflation. USCIS will reject form I-907 and return the filing fee for filings sent by commercial courier if it receives a form I-907 postmarked on or after February 26, 2024, with the wrong filing fee. The date on the courier receipt corresponds to the postmark date.