The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed to change
regulations regarding the governance of H-1B petitions subject to
annual caps, as well as those for people with U.S. master’s or higher
degrees. The proposed rule would require employers who wish to petition
for H-1B workers that are subject to the annual cap to first file an
electronic registration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) during a designated registration period.
Under the
proposed rule, if USCIS believes that the H-1B cap will not be reached
by the first day that such petitions may be filed, USCIS will let all
registered employers know that they may petition for H-1B workers on
behalf of beneficiaries named in the selected registrations. In such an
instance, USCIS will continue to accept and select registrations until
the annual cap is reached. However, if USCIS believes that the H-1B cap
will be reached by the first day that petitions may be filed, USCIS
proposes to close the registration before that date and to, instead,
randomly select a sufficient number of registrations to meet the visas
that are available for that fiscal year.
It is USCIS’s goal,
through this proposed rule, to reduce the administrative burdens and
costs associated with employer submissions of petitions.
