USCIS To Begin Accepting Electronic Registrations On March 1, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates subject to the annual quota for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on March 1, 2020. The registration period will run through at least March 20, 2020. USCIS intends to notify selected registrants no later than March 31, 2020.

The Registration Lottery

In January 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the implementation of an electronic registration system required for all H-1B cap-subject candidates for the regular and advanced degree lotteries. Employers are required to register each H-1B candidate for selection in the H-1B lottery. Only those candidates selected may submit a complete H-1B application for adjudication by USCIS.

The Rules of the Lottery—As We Know Them

The following is a summary of what we know about the registration lottery so far:

Employers may submit only one registration per candidate. If USCIS detects multiple registrations for the same candidate, it will discard all registrations for that candidate. In order to register, employers must provide basic information about the company and the candidate. Employers must pay a $10 registration fee per registered candidate. USCIS will accept electronic registrations from March 1 through March 20, 2020. If USCIS determines there is a need to collect more registrations beyond March 20, 2020, it will reopen the registration period. An employer must create an online registration account in order to register its FY 2021 H-1B candidates. USCIS has not yet...

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