USCIS Conducts Second Random Selection from Previously Submitted FY 2022 H-1B Cap Registrations
7/29/2021
In March 2021, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Per regulation, we use historical data related to approvals, denials, revocations, and other relevant factors to calculate the number of registrations needed to meet the H-1B cap for a given fiscal year. Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2022 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2022 was from April 1, 2021, through June 30, 2021.
We recently determined that we needed to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2022 numerical allocations. On July 28, we selected previously submitted electronic registrations using a random selection process. The petition filing period based on registrations selected on July 28 will begin on Aug. 2 and close on Nov. 3. Individuals with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.
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. Online filing is not available for H-1B petitions. Petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper and must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2022 H-1B cap-subject petition.
Registration selection only indicates that petitioners are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions; it does not indicate that the petition will be approved. Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must still submit evidence and establish eligibility for petition approval based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.
For more information, visit the H-1B Cap Season page.
Last Reviewed/Updated: 07/29/2021
USCIS Strengthens Protections to Combat H-1B Abuses
Release Date 02/08/2021
Release Date 02/08/2021
Clarifies Policy on Requirements for Third-Party Worksite H-1B Petitions
WASHINGTON — The H-1B visa program generally allows a foreign employee to work for a specific sponsoring American employer. As is true in many employment situations, the location of work can change. USCIS has published a policy memorandum (PDF, 124.09 KB) making clear that USCIS may request detailed documentation to ensure a legitimate employer-employee relationship is maintained while an employee is working at a third-party worksite.
In publishing this policy, USCIS clarifies existing regulatory requirements relating to H-1B petitions filed for workers who will be employed at one or more third-party worksites. This policy memorandum makes clear that employers must provide contracts and itineraries for employees who will work at a third-party location.
The guidance, effective Feb. 22, 2018, explains that, in order for an H-1B petition involving a third-party worksite to be approved, the petitioner must show by a preponderance of evidence that, among other things:
- The beneficiary will be employed in a specialty occupation; and
- The employer will maintain an employer-employee relationship with the beneficiary for the duration of the requested validity period.
When H-1B beneficiaries are placed at third-party worksites, petitioners must demonstrate that they have specific and non-speculative qualifying assignments in a specialty occupation for that beneficiary for the entire time requested on the petition. While an H-1B petition may be approved for up to three years, USCIS will, in its discretion, generally limit the approval period to the length of time demonstrated that the beneficiary will be placed in non-speculative work and during which the petitioner will maintain the requisite employer-employee relationship.
The updated policy guidance aligns with President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order and the directive to protect the interests of U.S. workers. Employment-based petitioners who circumvent the worker protections outlined in the nation’s immigration laws not only injure U.S. workers (e.g., their wages and job opportunities), but also the foreign workers for whom they are petitioning.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Last Reviewed/Updated: 02/22/2018
Source: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-strengthens-protections-to-combat-h-1b-abuses
DHS Delays Effective Date of H-1B Selection Final Rule
Release Date 02/04/2021
On Jan. 7, USCIS announced the H-1B Selection final rule, which amended the regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions.
To give USCIS more time to develop, test, and implement the modifications to the H-1B registration system and selection process, DHS is delaying the effective date of this final rule from March 9, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2021. The delay will also provide more time for USCIS to train staff and perform public outreach as well as give stakeholders time to adjust to the new rule.
For the upcoming H-1B cap season, USCIS will apply the current regulations (random selection) to any registration period that takes place before Dec. 31, 2021.
Additional information on the delayed effective date is available in the Federal Register notice.
Last Reviewed/Updated:02/04/2021
Source: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/dhs-delays-effective-date-of-h-1b-selection-final-rule
美工作签证新规出炉！不抽签了 按这个标准排位
01/09/2021
美国公民和移民服务局（USCIS）上周五（8日）公布H-1B工作签证申请新规，取消现有的抽签制度，以申请人的薪资水平作为发放签证的优先考虑条件。新规将于今年3月9日正式生效，在此之前已提交申请者不受影响。
H-1B工作签证授权允许外籍专业技术人员受雇在美国境内工作。根据新规，美国政府将以申靖人的入职年限和工作经验为标准，划分四个薪资水平等级，一级最低、四级最高，在每年8.5万个签证配额不变的情况下，优先考虑向高等级的申请人发放签证。
USCIS表示，新规目的是保护美国工人的经济利益，同时确保优秀的外国工人从中受益。USCIS副局长埃德洛（Joseph Edlow）指出，H-1B工作签证被一些聘用初级职位和希望降低营运成本的雇主滥用，使美国无法借该项目吸引最优秀的国际人才。
外媒引述移民律师分析称，新规导致美国企业聘用外籍雇员的成本提高。而由于美国每年的H1B申请数量均超限额，对于新入职和缺乏工作经验的申请者而言，他们获得签证的可能性将相应降低。
USCIS Modifies H-1B Selection Process to Prioritize Wages
Release Date 01/07/2021
Rule Expected to Protect the Economic Interests of American Workers
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a final rule that will modify the H-1B cap selection process, amend current lottery procedures, and prioritize wages to protect the economic interests of U.S. workers and better ensure the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment program.
Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivize employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive.
“The H-1B temporary visa program has been exploited and abused by employers primarily seeking to fill entry-level positions and reduce overall business costs,” said USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow. “The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the program to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominately resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of U.S. workers.”
This effort will only affect H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will be implemented for both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption, but it will not change the order of selection between the two as established by the H-1B registration final rule.
The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. DHS previously published a notice of proposed rulemaking on Nov. 2, 2020, and carefully considered the public comments received before deciding to publish the proposed regulations as a final rule.
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis).Last Reviewed/Updated:01/07/2021
Source: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-modifies-h-1b-selection-process-to-prioritize-wages
Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor Rule Restores Integrity to H-1B Visa Program
Release Date: October 6, 2020
Today the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced an interim final rule (IFR) that strengthens the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program to protect U.S. workers, restores integrity to the H-1B program and better guarantees that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners.
The H-1B program was intended to allow employers to fill gaps in their workforce and remain competitive in the global economy, however it has now expanded far beyond that, often to the detriment of U.S. workers. Data shows that the more than a half million H-1B nonimmigrants in the United States have been used to displace U.S. workers. This has led to reduced wages in a number of industries in the U.S. labor market and the stagnation of wages in certain occupations. These latest efforts on H-1B visas are part of a larger Trump Administration goal to protect American workers.
“We have entered an era in which economic security is an integral part of homeland security. Put simply, economic security is homeland security. In response, we must do everything we can within the bounds of the law to make sure the American worker is put first,” said Acting Secretary Chad Wolf. “The Department of Homeland Security is honored to take this important step toward putting Americans first and to continue to implement President Trump’s agenda to keep our economy secure.”
This rule will combat the use of H-1B workers to serve as a low-cost replacement for otherwise qualified American workers.
The new rule will:
- Narrow the definition of “specialty occupation” as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system;
- Require companies to make “real” offers to “real employees,” by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American worker; and,
- Enhance DHS’s ability to enforce compliance through worksite inspections and monitor compliance before, during, and after an H1-B petition is approved.
This IFR will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is forgoing the regular notice and comment period to immediately ensure that employing H-1B workers will not worsen the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and adversely affect wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. The pandemic’s economic impact is an “obvious and compelling fact” that justifies good cause to issue this IFR.