USCIS to open initial H-1B registration period March 1-20 for upcoming cap season

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it has completed testing of the online H-1B registration system and will implement it for the upcoming cap season with an initial registration period starting March 1.

Key dates and details:

• The initial registration period will open March 1 through 20, 2020.
• Petitioners must submit an online registration form for each prospective H-1B candidate and pay a $10 fee for each registration. If the number of registrants meets the H-1B caps, USCIS will run a lottery on the pool of registrations no later than March 31. Petitioners will be eligible to file cap-subject H-1B petitions on behalf of beneficiaries whose registrations are selected.
• The agency will post instructions, key dates and how to complete registrations on its website as the initial registration period nears.

BAL Analysis: Petitioners should prepare information required for their H-1B online registrations to be submitted on March 1. An official notice with additional details is expected to be published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks. BAL is closely monitoring the rollout of the registration system and will update clients as additional details about its implementation are released.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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