U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the H-1B registration period for the fiscal year 2023: March 1 through March 18. It’s anticipated that demand for the much sought-after H-1B visa will once again outstrip supply. Consequently, proactive employers will want to begin preparing for the H-1B registration soon to ensure everything is in order prior to the registration period and avoid a silly oversight costing them the chance at securing one of these valuable visas.
What is the H-1B Visa?
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. The number of H-1B visas is capped per fiscal year at 85,000—20,000 H-1B visas are allocated for applicants who hold a master’s degree or higher, while the minimum education requirement for the remaining 65,000 is a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent.
There are some H-1B visas that are not counted against the cap. The most notable of these are for foreign workers employed by
H cap-exempt organizations, such as institutions of higher learning, related and affiliated nonprofit entities associated with an institution of higher education (like teaching hospitals affiliated with university medical schools), and research organizations that are either non-profits or part of the federal government.
H-1B Registration Timetable
The fiscal year 2023 H-1B registration period will run from 12 pm (noon) eastern time on March 1 through 12 pm (noon) eastern time on March 18. It’s during this time that prospective petitions and representatives are required to submit registrations through the USCIS online system,
myUSCIS. If enough registrations are received to meet the H-1B cap by March 18—which will more likely happen—USCIS will randomly select registrations. USCIS will send selection notifications to myUSCIS accounts by March 31. Employers will then have 90 days to file H-1B cap petitions for selected registrants.
H-1B Registration Timeline
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March 1: H-1B registration period opens at 12 pm eastern time
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March 18: H-1B registration period closes at 12 pm eastern time
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March 31: Selection notifications are sent by USCIS
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April 1: H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year are able to be filed
H-1B Registration Process
To register a potential H-1B visa recipient, employers or their authorized representatives must pay a $10 fee for each prospective petition and fill out some general information about them. To register a prospective H-1B recipient, you’ll need info such as their:
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Full name
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Gender
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Date and country of birth
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Country of citizenship
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Passport number, if applicable
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Advanced degree cap qualifications, if applicable
USCIS will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted to the FY 2023 H-1B cap. The number is simply used to track registrations and is not for tracking case status.
To register a prospective petitioner, an organization is required to have a myUSCIS account for each Employer Identification Number (EIN) entity that will sponsor beneficiaries for the FY 2023 cap season. This is regardless of whether an employer works with an immigration attorney to submit registrations or does so on its own. It’s important to note that you cannot create a new account until February 21 and trying to create one in advance of this date can create enormous headaches down the road.
How to Prepare for the H-1B Registration Process
H-1B registration arrives quickly and is over seemingly just as fast. Employers should start to identify prospective H-1B visa candidates as soon as possible. Some examples of where an employee may need an H Visa: Students working under Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and will need an H-1B visa to be eligible to be employed in the U.S. once their OPT or CPT expires. Candidates currently in H-1B status with an H-1B cap-exempt employer (institutions of higher education or a related or affiliated non-profit entity, nonprofit research organizations, or governmental research organizations) seeking employment opportunities with cap-subject employers or candidates in other nonimmigrant work status such as TN, H-3, H-2, O-1, and J-1 but need to change their status to H-1B.
GoffWilson Immigration
We strongly recommend starting the H-1B application process as soon as possible and no later than February 15, 2022. We can help employers to develop a sound H-1B strategy—ensuring everything from hitting key deadlines to identifying the right people to put into the H-1B process.
GoffWilson Immigration solely practices immigration law and has assisted thousands of employers and employees with H-1B applications over our decades in practice. GoffWilson is a valuable partner through the entire H-1B process, helping to smoothly navigate everything from registration to filing a full petition.
Contact GoffWilson today to learn how we can help set you up for a successful H-1B season.