USCIS TO IMPLEMENT H-1B CAP RULE CHANGING MASTER’S CAP IN APRIL 2019 AND ADDING PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT IN APRIL 2020

The USCIS posted for public inspection a final rule changing the regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions.  This new makes two key changes to the H-1B cap:

 

1.  Master’s Cap Allocation.  The new rule reverses the order by which USCIS selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap and the master’s cap. USCIS will technically re-engineer the way that it conducts the H-1B lottery.  The result of the re-engineering should mean that a slightly greater number of H-1B petitions will be approved for US master’s degree H-1B beneficiaries than under the current H-1B lottery system.  We previously explained this process on an earlier blog.  This change will be implemented on April 1, 2019.

 

2. Pre-Registration Requirement.  The rule introduces an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.  Under the new rule, all H-1B lottery petitions will need to be electronically pre-registered during the H-1B pre-registration period from April 1-7.  After the pre-registration period has concluded, USCIS will run the H-1B lottery.  All H-1B lottery winners will then submit the actual H-1B petition.  If implemented properly, this should save petitioners and the industry significant expense.

 

After considering public feedback, USCIS decided to suspend the electronic pre-registration requirement until the April 2020 cap season in order to complete user testing and ensure the system and process are fully functional.

USCIS will begin accepting H-1B cap petitions on April 1, 2019.

H-1B CAP STRATEGY TELECONFERENCE

In anticipation of the H-1B cap filing date of April 1, 2019, MU Law will be holding a free teleconference for our clients and friends on Wednesday February 6, 2018 at 2PM / 11AM PT. Interested clients and friends can register for our webinar by clicking on the link below.

 

REGISTER HERE

 

Last year the H-1B cap was reached in the first week.  We expect that the demand will be even greater this year.  It is imperative that all H-1B cap-subject petitions are filled on April 1, 2019.

 

H-1B Teleconference Agenda

 

·       H-1B Cap Basics and Projections

·       H-1B Dependency

·       H-1B issues for Staffing Companies and Third Party Placements

·       What is Third- Party Placement v. In-House work?

·       Employer-Employee relationships

·       The New H-1B lottery

·       H-1B electronic filing

 

Hot issues:  

 

·       Cap-gap for F-1s

·       CPT / OPT maintenance

·       NIV maintenance

·       H-4 EAD rule

·       H-1B amendments: lengthy processing times

·       Top 10 things H-1B employers can do to stay compliant

·       Legislative Update

·       What we can expect from the Trump administration and the Republican congress.

 

Q&A

 

USCIS WILL RESUME PREMIUM PROCESSING ON H-1B CAP CASES FILED IN APRIL 2018

USCIS will resume premium processing effective January 28, 2019 for all H-1B cap petitions filed in April 2018.  If a request for evidence (RFE) has been issued, the case can be upgraded to premium processing upon submission of the RFE Reply.

 

At present, H-1B extensions filed with the Nebraska Service Center are eligible for premium processing.
 

The previously announced suspension of premium processing for all other categories of H-1B petitions remains in effect. The USCIS plans to resume premium processing for the remaining categories of H‑1B petitions as agency workloads permit.

 

 

H-1B COMMENT PERIOD CLOSED

Last month USCIS published two proposed rules to the H-1B cap process.  As we noted on December 5, 2018:

 The two rules are:

1.    Electronic pre-registration for the H-1B cap.  This is a proposed rule that has been considered by USCIS since 2011.  Under the proposal, all H-1B lottery petitions will need to be electronically pre-registered during the H-1B pre-registration period from April 1-7.  After the pre-registration period has concluded, USCIS will run the H-1B lottery.  All H-1B lottery winners will then have 60 days to submit the actual H-1B petition.  If implemented properly, this should save petitioners and the industry significant expense.

2.    H-1B Masters Cap Allocation Preference.  USCIS will technically re-engineer the way that it conducts the H-1B lottery.  The result of the re-engineering should mean that a slightly greater number of H-1B petitions will be approved for US Masters Degree H-1B Beneficiaries than under the current H-1B lottery.  We previously explained this process on an earlier blog.

Now that the comment period has ended the USCIS must read and consider all of the comments, which were plentiful.  Many of the comments focused on the fact that rushing this proposal forward for the April 1, 2019 H-1B cap is a bad idea.  MU Law agrees that the USCIS is moving too fast with these recommendations.

The USCIS has not announced a timetable for a decision as to whether the proposed changes will be adopted and, if so, whether they will go into effect for April 2019.  It is however expected that they will make a decision by February.