H-1B Visa Registration Starts From 9 March

The USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) has announced the dates to start the application process for H-1B visas. For the fiscal year 2022, the registration process will start from 9 March and continue till 25 March.

The Biden government earlier announced that it would continue with the traditional lottery system to issue H-1B visa till 31 December, 2021. This is the 2nd year the e-registration process will be adopted.

The IT companies depend on H-1B to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. USCIS had received 2.75 lakh registrations from sponsoring employers during the last filing season, for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021.

The agency said if it receives enough registrations by 25 March, it will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications by 31 March.

USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in STEM subjects.

In January, the USCIS had announced doing away with the traditional lottery system in deciding the successful applicants for the H-1B visas.

US President Joe Biden withdrew a Trump-era rule rescinding work authorisation for H4 visa holders, who are spouses of those possessing H-1B work visas, with majority being highly-skilled Indian women.