H-1B Cap Registration Information for FY 2026

Posted on by Susan Lane

TRAVEL WARNING

International travel for nonimmigrants is potentially risky until we have more clarity on visa processing and the inspection and admission processes under the Trump Administration. Consequently, if you need to apply for a new visa, such as an H-1B, to return to the U.S., consider postponing your trip.

FY 2026 H-1B CAP REGISTRATION INFORMATION

USCIS announced that the initial registration period for FY2026 H-1B cap subject petitions will open at noon Eastern on March 7 and close at noon Eastern on March 24. USCIS intends to notify those selected in the lottery by March 31. The registration fee this year is $215.

Employers must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary for whom they wish to file an H-1B petition. Employers can create an account here: https://my.uscis.gov/ and information can also be found here: https://www.uscis.gov/organizational-accounts-FAQ.

If you are an employer who had an H-1B registrant account for the FY 2021– FY 2024 H-1B registration seasons, but you did not use the account for FY 2025, your existing account will be converted to an organizational account after your next log in. First-time registrants can create an account at any time.

Stateside Visa Renewal Program for H-1B principals begins January 29, 2024 and ends April 1, 2024

Posted on by Susan Lane

Requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Renewing a prior H-1B visa issued by Mission Canada with an issuance date from 1/1/2020 – 4/1/2023 OR are renewing an H-1B visa issued by Mission India with an issuance date from 2/1/2021 – 9/30/2021
  2. Not subject to a nonimmigrant visa reciprocity fee (which can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html)
  3. Eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement
  4. Have submitted fingerprints with a prior visa application (If you ever had a nonimmigrant visa interview (and you were 14-79 years old at the time) and your visa was issued in or after January, 2008, you should have been ten printed.)
  5. Prior visa does not include a “clearance received” annotation
  6. Were most recently admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status

The State Department will begin accepting online applications on January 29, 2024 via https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employment/domestic-renewal.html. They will limit application slots each week to 2000 for those renewing a visa issued by Mission Canada, and 2000 for those renewing a visa issued by Mission India. Once the 2000 weekly limit is reached for each Mission, the online portal will be locked until the next portion of slots are released the next week.

If you have questions about your eligibility and/or wish to submit an application, please contact my office for a consultation.

The H1-B Visa Cap Has Been Met for FY2024

Posted on by Susan Lane

USCIS announced on 12/13/2023 that it received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2024.

USCIS will send non-selection notices to registrants through their online accounts over the next few days. Upon completion of the non-selection notifications, the status for properly submitted registrations that were not selected for the FY 2024 H-1B numerical allocations will show: Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.

We are now beginning to work on H-1B cap cases for FY2025. If you have a cap case or questions about a potential H-1B cap case, please contact my office.

FY 2024 H-1B CAP Initial Registration Period Opens March 1

Posted on by Susan Lane

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 17, 2023. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online H-1B registration system.

USCIS will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted for the FY 2024 H-1B cap. This number is used solely to track registrations; you cannot use this number to track your case status in Case Status Online.

Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively known as “registrants”) will use a “registrant” account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on Feb. 21.

Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. Prospective petitioners or their representatives will be able to submit registrations for multiple beneficiaries in a single online session. Through the account, they will be able to prepare, edit, and store draft registrations prior to final payment and submission of each registration.

If USCIS receives enough registrations by March 17, they will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. If they do not receive enough registrations, all registrations that were properly submitted in the initial registration period will be selected. USCIS intends to notify account holders by March 31.

Good news on H-4, L-2, and EAD processing!

Posted on by Susan Lane

Beginning January 25, 2023, USCIS will resume bundling the adjudication of Forms I-539 and I-765 for the spouses and minor children of H-1B and L-1 nonimmigrants along with the underlying Form I-129 if the forms are filed concurrently. USCIS will adjudicate these applications together whether the I-129 petition is filed under regular or premium processing. This bundled process will be in effect for two years. The announcement did not clarify whether this applies to pending cases or merely cases filed 1/25/2023 or later.

I-693 MEDICAL EXAMINATION NEWS FROM USCIS (June 28, 2022)

Posted on by Susan Lane

From USCIS:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plays a significant role in the processing of employment-based visas, and we want to ensure we use as many available visas as possible in fiscal year (FY) 2022, which ends on Sept. 30, 2022.

We urge anyone within the United States who may be eligible for an employment-based adjustment of status to note these important reminders regarding Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record:

  • If you are planning to file an adjustment of status application, be sure to include a valid Form I-693.
  • If you have a pending Form I-485, Adjustment of Status Application, please do not send an unsolicited Form I-693 to USCIS. We are proactively identifying employment-based adjustment of status applications with available visas that lack a valid Form I-693 and are directly contacting applicants to request that form.
  • If you know that your previously filed Form I-485 does not have a valid Form I-693, your underlying petition is approved, and a visa is available to you, it will help USCIS use the available visas and adjudicate your application if you visit a civil surgeon and have a valid Form I-693 on hand when we send the request to you.
  • A Form I-693 is valid for two years from the date that the civil surgeon signs the form.

More Information

For more information, visit our new Fiscal Year 2022 Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs.

FY 2023 H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed

Posted on by Susan Lane

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). We randomly selected from among the registrations properly submitted to reach the cap. We have notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration.