FY 2024 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 1
On January 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that the initial registration period for fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 1, 2023 and run through noon ET on March 17, 2023. The electronic registration process for the H-1B cap was implemented in 2020 and enables prospective employers seeking to employ a foreign national on an H-1B visa to register for selectin in the H-1B lottery.
The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant classification that applies to foreign nationals who wish to perform services in a specialty occupation, services of exceptional merit and ability relating to a Department of Defense (“DOD”) cooperative research and development project, or services as a fashion model of distinguished merit or ability. The cap for H-1B filings remains at 65,000 with an additional $20,000 reserved for foreign nationals with Master’s degrees from U.S. educational institutions. For more information visit https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations.
U.S. employers must first electronically register and pay the associated registration fee ($10) by credit card. Such employers are required to use myUSCIS online account to register the employing entity and prospective employee (a/k/a beneficiary) as well as the attorney representing the employer. However, either the employer, attorneys or legal representative will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon ET on February 21, 2023.
If USCIS receives enough registrations by March 17 to meet the cap, it will randomly select registrations and send election notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. Otherwise, a new selection period will be designated and disclosed by USCIS. The employers and legal representatives are expected to be notified no later than March 31 of the selections.
Moreover, the U.S. Department of Treasury has approved a temporary increase in the daily credit card transaction limit from $24,999.99 to $39,999.99 for the FY 2024 H-1B cap season. This temporary increase is in response to the high volume of previously filed H-1B registrations which exceeded the daily credit card limit. Additional information will be provided before the start of the initial H-1B registration period.
An H-1B cap-subject petition, including a petition for a beneficiary who is eligible for the Master’s degree cap, may only be filed by a petitioner whose registration for the beneficiary named in the H-1B petition was selected in the H-1B registration process.
Our immigration team continues to closely monitor USCIS updates that impact the H-1B filing season and our clients’ participation in it.
Rogers Towers Immigration Team
Rogers Towers Labor & Employment Team
Lori S. Patterson
Eric J. Holshouser
Samuel J. Horovitz
Kathryn K. Rudderman
