By notice dated January 31, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in particular, issued a final rule changing the process by which H-1B cap subject petitions will be selected each fiscal year (FY). The final rule (1) adds a pre-registration process to the H-1B lottery, and (2) reverses the order by which H-1B petitions are selected in the lottery, thereby increasing the total number of beneficiaries with a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. college or university selected. Importantly, while USCIS will implement the reversed selection process for the FY 2020 H-1B cap filing season (April 2019), the final rule’s pre-registration requirement will not be implemented until at least the FY 2021 H-1B cap filing season (April 2020).
For more information on changes to the H-1B filing process, see our client alert.
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USCIS finalizes changes to H-1B lottery
Feb 15, 2019
By notice dated January 31, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in particular, issued a final rule changing the process by which H-1B cap subject petitions will be selected each fiscal year (FY).