An advance copy of a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration submitted to USCIS for H-1B cap selection was released by USCIS on September 3, 2019 and published in the Federal Register on September 4, 2019. DHS published a final rule on January 31, 2019 requiring petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including eligible petitioners for the advanced degree exemption, to electronically register first with USCIS during a designated registration period unless the requirement was temporarily suspended. If registration is required, only those H-1B candidates selected will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition. The final rule became effective on April 1, 2019 but USCIS suspended the registration requirement for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap filing season.It is not yet known whether USCIS intends to implement the H-1B Registration Tool for the upcoming FY2021 H-1B cap filing season beginning April 1, 2020. On August 16, 2019, several business, immigration (including AILA), information technology, human resources and higher education associations sent a letter to USCIS to inquire about its use of the electronic registration system for the FY2021 H-1B cap filing season. We will provide an update if/when more information becomes available regarding the implementation of the H-1B registration system and when it will occur. Additional information on the proposed rule is available at https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCIS-2019-0006-0001.
