H-1B Final Rule

DHS’s final rule for H-1B registration is “beneficiary-centric” under which the beneficiary will have one chance of being selected regardless of how many organizations apply for him or her.

Timing –

• Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on 2/28/24.
• Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until 3/6/24 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee.
• The initial registration period will open at noon Eastern on 3/6/24 and run through noon Eastern on 3/22/24.
• USCIS intends to notify account holders and upload selection notifications to their accounts by 3/31/24.

Procedure –

• The $10 fee remains for this year (it is projected that the registration fee will rise to $215 next year).
• The process will be beneficiary-centric instead of organization-centric.
• Online filing of non-cap Form I-129’s (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker) and associated I-907’s (Request for Premium Processing Service) will begin on 2/28/24.
• Online filing of H-1B cap cases and associated I-907’s begins on 4/1/24.
• USCIS will transition paper filing location for H-1B and I-907 petitions from service centers to the USCIS lockbox with the new filing locations to be announced in March.

Applicants must have a valid passport or travel document at the time of registration. Without it, they cannot participate. Renewal of the passport or travel document can be done later.

It should be noted that most organizations with selected registrants will have to pay enhanced fees to file H-1B petitions. For small for-profit employers (25 or less full-time employees in the United States), the increases will be less, while those on larger for-profit employers (with 26 or more full-time employees in the United States) will be more. In addition to the regular add-ons ($500 fraud fee and either $750 or $1500 job training fee), both of the latter categories will have to pay a $600 asylum program fee, and the larger for-profit employers an enhanced $780 I-129 fee instead of the regular $460 fee. Fee increases are slated to go into effect on April 1, 2024.

Contact our Irving, TX Employment Based Immigration Lawyer

If you have any questions about the new changes to H-1B registration, our firm can help you understand what your options are. Our attorney has extensive experience assisting clients with a variety of immigration matters in Dallas, Grand Prarie, Irving, Plano, Arlington, Santa Fe, and Rio Rancho. Get it touch with our office by calling 214-609-2242.