H-1B cap petitions for FY 2021 can be filed now

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that cap-subject petitions for H-1B for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 may now be filed with USCIS. This is possible if the petitions are based on a valid selected registration. These include those petitions that are eligible to avail of the advanced degree exemption.

The petitioner should electronically register the beneficiary in the H-1B registration process. Only then he/she is eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for FY 2021. Also, the USCIS must have selected the registration submitted for the beneficiary. This selection will be done through a random selection process for the people who are willing to work in USA.

The electronic registration system for H-1B visa application given a high rate of satisfaction to its users. The initial registration period saw 275,000 unique registrations being submitted. Around 46% of total registrations were for prospective beneficiaries having US degrees. Over 40,000 registration accounts were created. Nearly 81% of registrations submitted catered to potential beneficiaries hailing from India (67.7%) and China (13.2%). A robust outreach was conducted by USCIS before introducing the electronic registration system. It equipped users to use the new system effectively.

The modernized process of the H-1B registration system is expected to bring dramatic results this year. It will lead to a considerable decrease in the amount of paper and data that gets transferred between USCIS and the petitioners. This observation was shared by Joseph Edlow, the USCIS Deputy Director for Policy.

The new system has a limited amount of technical issues during registration. It could promptly respond to the questions from the registrants. The new H-1B registration system is one of the many ways in which USCIS is improving the registration program.

The registrants should file the H-1B cap-subject petition in the proper manner and within the stipulated period. This period is shown on the relevant registration selection notice. It is not less than 90 days.

Petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions in the absence of online filing must file by paper. They must include a copy in print of the registration selection notice applicable with the FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petition.

Those filing H-1B cap-subject petitions must still establish eligibility for petition approval. This should be done at the time of filing the petition. These include those petitions eligible for advanced degree exemption. The eligibility should be established through adjudication. It should be based on prevailing statutory and regulatory requirements. The petitioner in any circumstance should submit evidence or establish eligibility in any other way. Registration pertains only to the eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition.

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