The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revealed that the submission procedure for H-1B visa applications for the fiscal year 2025 will begin on March 6. This announcement is accompanied by a notable redesign of the annual lottery system for the H-1B visa, a non-immigrant visa used by US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations requiring theoretical or technical expertise.
Here are key details about the upcoming H-1B visa application process:
- Registration Period: The initial registration period for the fiscal 2025 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 6 and continue through March 22. During this time, prospective petitioners and their advocates must use a USCIS online account to electronically register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the registration fee for each beneficiary.
- Account Opening: Starting February 28, companies can open their accounts, which will be used to initiate and complete the registration process.
- Passport Information Requirement: Beginning with fiscal 2025 (starting October 1, 2024), registrants must provide valid passport information or valid travel document information for each beneficiary during the registration process.
- Beneficiary-Centric Selection Process: The redesigned system introduces a beneficiary-centric selection process for registrations by employers. Each beneficiary must be registered under one passport or travel document.
- Individual Application Counting: H-1B visa applications will be counted and accepted based on individual applicants, reducing the potential for abuse and fraud in the system. Even if an individual files multiple applications for various companies, they will be counted as one application based on personal credentials like passport numbers.
- New Rules for Integrity: USCIS has introduced new rules aimed at strengthening the integrity of and reducing the potential for fraud in the H-1B registration process. The rules include provisions to reduce the potential for gaming the registration system and ensure equal chances for each beneficiary.
- Formalized USCIS Authority: The final rule formalizes USCIS’s authority to reject or cancel H-1B petitions in cases where the underlying registration was void or contained fraudulent information. Additionally, USCIS may deny or revoke the approval of an H-1B petition if it finds that the registration fee was rejected, not reconciled, contested, or otherwise illegal after the petition was submitted.
This announcement follows the launch of a pilot program on January 29, allowing the renewal of H-1B visas domestically, potentially benefiting thousands of Indian tech professionals. The H-1B visa remains crucial for US companies, particularly in the technology sector, to fill positions requiring specialized skills.
