Mar 2 2011

USCIS Proposes New Rule for Management of Cap-Subject H-1B Visas

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.