USCIS will formally withdraw H-1B lottery prioritization rule

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will formally withdraw a Trump-era rule that would have replaced the current H-1B lottery with a system prioritizing individuals with the highest offered salaries.

Key Points:

• A federal court vacated the H-1B lottery prioritization rule in September. The government is now formally withdrawing it. This action confirms USCIS will not implement a wage-based selection process for the FY 2023 cap season.
• USCIS is also withdrawing associated changes it proposed to the Form I-129 and H-1B cap registration tool.
• The agency is still considering H-1B reforms, including to the registration process, and may propose additional changes in 2022.

Additional Information: The formal withdrawal is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register Wednesday, Dec. 22. A prepublication version is available here.

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

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