The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulations governing H–1B specialty occupation workers to modernize and improve the efficiency of the H–1B program, add benefits and flexibilities, and improve integrity measures. Some of the proposed provisions would narrowly impact other nonimmigrant classifications, including: H–2, H–3, F–1, L–1, O, P, Q–1, R–1, E–3, and TN. DHS intends to finalize the proposals contained in this rulemaking through one or more final rules, depending on agency resources.  Federal Register details can be found here.

In a press release, DHS described the following changes that would be made by the NPRM:

• Streamlining eligibility requirements – criteria for specialty occupation positions would be revised to reduce confusion between the public and adjudicators and to clarify that a position may allow a range of degrees, although there must be a direct relationship between the required degree field(s) and the duties of the position;
• Improving program efficiency – The proposed rule codifies that adjudicators generally should defer to a prior determination when no underlying facts have changed at time of a new filing;
• Providing greater benefits and flexibilities for employers and workers – certain exemptions to the H-1B cap would be expanded for certain nonprofit entities or governmental research organizations as well as beneficiaries who are not directly employed by a qualifying organization. DHS would also extend certain flexibilities for students on an F-1 visa when students are seeking to change their status to H-1B. Additionally, DHS would establish new H-1B eligibility requirements for rising entrepreneurs; and
• Strengthening integrity measures – in addition to changing the selection process, misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration process would be reduced by prohibiting related entities from submitting multiple registrations for the same beneficiary. The rule would also codify USCIS’ authority to conduct site visits and clarify that refusal to comply with site visits may result in denial or revocation of the petition.

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AILA October 2023

H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). We have randomly selected from the registrations properly submitted to reach the cap, and 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.

Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each registration (that is, for each beneficiary registered):

• Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
• Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid.

For more information, visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.

FY 2024 H-1B Cap Petitions May Be Filed Starting April 1

H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2023, if based on a valid, selected registration.

Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice.

An H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed at the correct service center and within the filing period indicated on the relevant registration selection notice. The period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days. Online filing is not available for H-1B petitions, so petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper. Petitioners must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2024 H-1B cap-subject petition.

Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must still establish eligibility for petition approval based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

Selection in the registration process does not relieve the petitioner of submitting evidence or otherwise establishing eligibility, as registration only pertains to eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition.

For more information, visit the H-1B Cap Season page.

USCIS March 13, 2023

​For the first time ever, international F-1 students can request premium processing for their Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization filed under one of these categories:

• (c)(3)(A): Pre-completion optional practical training (OPT)
• (c)(3)(B): Post-completion OPT
• (c)(3)(C): 24-month extension of OPT for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students

If you fall into an eligible category above and:

• Your Form I-765 is already pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): As of March 6, you may request premium processing
• You have not submitted your Form I-765 yet: Starting on Monday, April 3, you can submit a premium processing request together with your Form I-765 requesting OPT

How To Request Premium Processing
To request premium processing, you must submit the edition of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service dated November 3, 2022. USCIS no longer accepts previous editions of Form I-907.
You may submit the form online through your USCIS online account or by paper. If you want to submit the Form I-907 online but already filed a paper Form I-765, follow the account access notice instructions that USCIS sent you to link your paper Form I-765 to your online account.
Please note you must pay the Form I-907 fee separately from the Form I-765 filing fees. If you submit a single, combined fee payment for multiple forms, USCIS will reject your entire filing.

Why This Matters
While we are pleased to see USCIS offer premium processing to students applying for OPT, we continue to hear stakeholder feedback in support of expanding premium processing to additional applicants and regularly raise this feedback with USCIS.
USCIS announced it intends to further expand premium processing in 2023:

• May: For certain student and exchange visitors with a pending Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
• June: For certain student and exchange visitors filing initial Form I-539 applications

​Today, 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.

We 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. We intend to notify account holders by March 31.

Additional information will be provided before the start of the initial H-1B registration period.

An H-1B cap-subject petition, including a petition for a beneficiary who is eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may only be filed by a petitioner whose registration for the beneficiary named in the H-1B petition was selected in the H-1B registration process.

Fiscal Year 2024 Diversity Visa lottery participants have until November 8 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official lottery website.   

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the first implementation phase of the previously announced premium processing expansion. This expansion applies to certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the E13 multinational executive and manager classification or the E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW).

USCIS will begin offering premium processing in a staggered approach for these Form I-140 petitions:

• Beginning June 1, 2022, we will accept Form I-907 requests for E13 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before Jan. 1, 2021.

• Beginning July 1, 2022, we will accept Form I-907 requests for E21 NIW petitions received on or before June 1, 2021, and E13 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before March 1, 2021.

Premium processing will only be available to petitioners who already have pending E13 multinational executive and manager or E21 NIW petitions, and petitioners should follow the schedule outlined in the chart below. The date next to each month is the receipt/priority date that will be eligible to file a premium processing upgrade request. For example, if an E13 multinational executive and manager petition has a receipt date of Jan. 15, 2021, they would NOT be eligible for premium processing services as of June 1, 2022. But if the receipt date was Dec. 23, 2020, they could file an upgrade using Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. USCIS will reject premium processing requests for these classifications that are filed before their start date of June 1, 2022, or July 1, 2022.

E13 Upgrade Schedule

Start DateCorresponding Filing/Priority Dates
June 1, 2022On or before Jan. 1, 2021
July 1, 2022On or before March 1, 2021

E21 NIW Upgrade Schedule

Start DateCorresponding Filing/Priority Dates
June 1, 2022On or before Jan. 1, 2021.  

​On May 23, 2022, USCIS published a new version of Form I-907, dated 05/31/22. For the month of June, USCIS will accept both the 09/30/20 and the 05/31/22 edition of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. Starting July 1, 2022, USCIS will reject petitions using the older 09/30/20 edition of Form I-907.

The initial selection for FY2023 H1B visas was completed today.  This means the first round is done, although there may be additional rounds this year.  Last year, additional selections were made in July and then again in November.  If you were not selected this first round, it is still possible you will be selected in later rounds, however, we will have to wait and see if there are any remaining visa numbers after the initial round.  Below is the official notice from USCIS posted today.

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H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed
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.
Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each registration (that is, for each beneficiary registered):

• Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
• Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, rejected, disputed, or cancelled after submission.

For more information, visit the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.
FY 2023 H-1B Cap Petitions May Be Filed Starting April 1
H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2023, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2022, if based on a valid, selected registration.
Only petitioners with selected registrations may file H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2023, and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice.
An H-1B cap-subject petition must be properly filed with the correct service center and within the filing period indicated on the relevant registration selection notice. The period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days. Online filing is not yet available for H-1B petitions, so petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper. Petitioners must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2023 H-1B cap-subject petition.
Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must still establish eligibility for petition approval at the time the petition is filed and through adjudication, based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
Selection in the registration process does not relieve the petitioner of submitting evidence or otherwise establishing eligibility, as registration only pertains to eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition.
For more information, visit the H-1B Cap Season page.
Pre-paid Mailer Suspension
We will not use pre-paid mailers to send out any communication or final notices for fiscal year 2023 cap-subject H-1B petitions, including those requesting consideration under the advanced degree exemption.
The process of printing and mailing the cap-subject H-1B petition approval notices by first-class mail is fully automated. Using pre-paid mailers requires a separate, more time-consuming manual process. The existing automated process is more time efficient for both petitioners and USCIS. Because of this, we will use first-class mail as we work to process all cap-subject petitions in a timely manner.
Receipt Notice Delays
When we receive a timely and properly filed H-1B cap subject petition, the petitioner (and, if applicable, the petitioner’s legal representative) will be provided a Form I-797, Notice of Action, communicating receipt of the petition. Due to increased filing volumes typically seen during H-1B cap filing periods, there are instances where a petition is timely and properly filed, but issuance of the Form I-797 is delayed. If a petitioner has confirmation from the delivery service that the petition was delivered, but they have not yet received a Form I-797 confirming receipt of the petition, the petitioner should not submit a second petition. If a petitioner has confirmation from the delivery service that the petition was delivered and they then submit a second petition, the petitioner will be considered to have submitted duplicate petitions. This will result in denial or revocation of both petitions. 
If more than 30 days have passed since the confirmation of delivery and the petitioner has still not received a Form I-797, the petitioner may contact the USCIS Contact Center for assistance.
If a petitioner receives notification from the delivery service, or their tracking information suggests, that there may be a delay or damage to the package or that the package was misrouted, the petitioner should follow the Delivery Service Error Guidance on the H-1B Cap Season webpage.

US Department of State, December 23, 2021

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has authorized consular officers through the end of 2022 to waive the in-person interview requirement for certain temporary employment nonimmigrant visa applicants who have a petition approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.   This new authorization applies to temporary workers applying for H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q visas who meet certain conditions, including that they are applying for a visa in their country of nationality or residence.  Under this authority, consular officers have discretion to waive the visa interview requirement for individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q applicants who were previously issued any type of visa, and who have never been refused a visa unless such refusal was overcome or waived, and who have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility; or first-time individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q who are citizens or nationals of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), provided they have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility and have previously traveled to the United States using an authorization obtained via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) .
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In addition, the Secretary extended previously approved policies to waive the visa interview for certain students, professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or specialists (F, M, and academic J visa applicants) through the end of 2022.  One change to the previous policy is that applicants eligible for the waiver authority because they are citizens or nationals of a VWP participating country must have previously traveled to the United States using an authorization obtained via ESTA to qualify.  Applicants must apply for a visa in their country of nationality or residence.  Like the policy for certain individual petition-based visa applicants, consular officers have discretion to waive the interview for  F, M, and academic J visa applicants who were previously issued any type of visa, and who have never been refused a visa unless such refusal was overcome or waived, and who have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility; or first-time F, M, and academic J visa applicants who are citizens or nationals of a country that participates in VWP and who have previously traveled to the United States via an ESTA authorization, provided they have no apparent ineligibility or potential ineligibility.  

The previous authority allowing for waiver of interview of certain H-2 (temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers) applicants has also been extended through the end of 2022.  Applicants renewing any visa within 48 months of expiration are also eligible for interview waiver.

Consular resources and local government restrictions vary widely, and each consular section is continuously reviewing its capacity to adjudicate visa applications during this worldwide pandemic and as we address global issues and competing priorities.  We encourage applicants to check the website of the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate to confirm the level of services currently offered and to find guidelines for applying for a visa without an interview.