On February 20, 2020, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman hosted a webinar with speakers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to discuss the new H-1B electronic registration process.
During the webinar, officials from the USCIS External Affairs and Service Center Operations Directorates provided an instructional overview on how employers and legal representatives may participate in the electronic registration process for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap.
The key discussion topics included: creating the appropriate myUSCIS account type; linking a representative and registrant account; reviewing and completing the registration process; and tracking the status of a registration.
Participants in the webinar were also provided with an opportunity to submit written questions to USCIS regarding the registration process. Below is a summary of the responses USCIS provided to the most frequently asked questions:
- If a prospective petitioner already has an existing myUSCIS account, they will need to create a new “registrant” account. This feature became available on February 24, 2020.
- The important dates associated with the H-1B Registration Process are as follows:
- March 1: H-1B registration period opens at noon ET. Participants will not be able to submit registrations before then.
- March 20: H-1B registration period closes at noon ET.
- March 31: Date by which USCIS intends to notify selected registrants.
- April 1: The earliest date that FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions may be filed.
- Beginning April 1, 2020, petitioners with selected registrations will need to submit a Form I-129 H-1B petition within the 90-day period indicated on the selection notice. USCIS has decided not to implement a staggered petition filing system for this fiscal year. Petitioners should file at the location indicated on the H-1B selection notice, which may be different from the historical Form I-129 filing jurisdictions for cap-subject petitions.
- When filing the Form I-129, H-1B petition for a selected beneficiary, include the selection notice on top of your fully completed petition.
USCIS is addressing common questions on its H-1B registration landing page. The landing page contains information about how to register, which includes PowerPoint presentations from engagements hosted by USCIS. The site also includes additional resources available to assist participants with the H-1B electronic registration process. For further information on the H-1B electronic registration process and implementation, you can review the Federal Register Notice: Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens.
To learn more about our other engagements, please visit our Public Engagement page for the latest updates.