H-1B visa

The phrase “H-1B cap” refers to the number of new H-1B visas that are allotted each fiscal year. There are 20,000 new H-1B visas available to qualified individuals who possess a U.S. master’s degree or a higher degree from a U.S. university (this is known as the “master’s cap”). There are also 65,000 new H-1B visas available to everyone else (qualified foreign professionals who do not have U.S. master’s degrees).

USCIS has an electronic registration requirement, which requires employers seeking to file H-1B cap petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to first electronically register. They must submit basic information about the employer and foreign worker to USCIS during a designated registration period. Only those beneficiaries whose registrations are selected will be eligible to have an H-1B cap-subject petition filed on their behalf.

Under the electronic registration process, USCIS holds an initial registration period of at least 14 days, generally the first weeks of March. USCIS must announce the specific dates for the registration period at least 30 days before the start of registration.

During the registration period, employers will file an online registration for each foreign national they seek to sponsor for a cap-subject H-1B petition. Registrations will be selected by beneficiary rather than registration as was previously the situation. This means that each foreign national can be selected only once and will therefore have an equal chance of selection regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf. Foreign nationals must provide a valid passport or travel document for registration. Each foreign national must only be registered under one passport or travel document.

Yes. BAL can handle the H-1B online registration process on behalf of the employer.