U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will implement the new electronic registration process for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap lottery. Employers intending to file H-1B cap-subject petitions under next year’s cap will be required to first electronically register each intended beneficiary and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee. The H-1B cap lottery will be conducted after the registration period concludes, and employers will then be notified when to submit H-1B petitions for selected beneficiaries.

WHAT EMPLOYERS CAN EXPECT

The initial registration period will take place from March 1 through March 20, 2020. The H-1B random selection process will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The agency may determine it is necessary to open an additional registration period if it does not receive enough registrations and subsequent petitions projected to reach the annual quota. USCIS is expected to publish additional information about the registration process in the coming weeks, including information about key dates and timelines.  USCIS will also conduct public engagements and other outreach activities to ensure interested parties are familiar with the new registration system.