New Electronic Visa Registration Process By USCIS

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Friday, that it has completed the process to implement the H-1B electronic registration process for the 2021 cap season, after a successful pilot testing phase. As a result of this, employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 registration fee. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services would start accepting the H-1B petitions from April 1, 2020, for the next fiscal year.

"The electronic registration will dramatically streamline the process by reducing paperwork and data exchange, and will provide overall cost savings to petitioning employers," the US agency said. Under this new process, employers seeking H-1B workers subject to the cap, or their authorized representatives, will have to complete a registration process that requires only basic information about their company and each requested worker. The H-1B random selection process, if needed, will then be run on those e-registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020.

"By streamlining the H-1B cap selection process with a new electronic registration system, USCIS is creating cost savings and efficiencies for petitioners and the agency, as only those selected will now be required to submit a full petition," said USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans. "The agency completed a successful pilot testing phase, which included sessions with industry representatives, and implementation of the registration system will further the goal of modernizing USCIS from a paper-based to an online-filing agency," he said.

USCIS will post step-by-step instructions informing registrants how to complete the registration process on its website along with key dates and timelines as the initial registration period nears. The USCIS may determine if it is necessary to continue accepting registrations, or open an additional registration period if it does not receive enough registrations and subsequent petitions projected to reach the numerical allocations, it added.