Important and Time-Sensitive Updates on the New H-1B Lottery Process
Further to our previous updates regarding the new process for the annual H-1B lottery this year, USCIS has (finally!) released information about the web portal through which employers and their lawyers can register prospective H-1B workers for the annual visa lottery.
As a reminder, the registration period is from Sunday, March 1 at noon (EST) to Friday, March 20 at noon (EST). It is best to register as many employees as possible on the first day the registration period opens (Sunday, March 1) so there is time to accommodate any system glitches or crashes before the registration period closes on March 20.
Before the registration period opens on March 1, employers will need to create a company account under myUSCIS as an “H-1B Registrant.” However, the earliest date on which an employer can create an account is Monday, February 24, 2020. Pages 1-8 of the attached document walk you through the account creation process.
Employers can either register prospective H-1B candidates themselves or have an attorney do so on their behalf. If an attorney handles the registrations, the employer still needs to create an account to sync up with the attorney’s account (explained more below) in order to verify and confirm all the H-1B candidates the attorney registers on its behalf.
If an attorney is registering the prospective H-1B workers, s/he will send the employer a (long) passcode from his or her attorney USCIS account that the employer will need to enter into its account so the attorney can complete the registration(s) on its behalf. Essentially, the password syncs the accounts of the employer and the lawyer, allowing the employer to see all the employees registered on its behalf. Pages 9-21 of the attached document show how the attorney-client syncing process occurs.
After the registration period closes on March 20, USCIS will run the lottery. It will notify employers and their attorneys by email or text of the selected registrations by April 1, 2020, following which employers have 90 days to file complete H-1B petitions on behalf of their prospective H-1B employees. Pages 22-23 of the attached document show how the status of an employer’s registrations will look if they have been selected or not. Please note that USCIS will deny any duplicate entries on behalf of the same candidate.
As a summary, here’s the H-1B Registration Process Timeline:
Feb. 24: Prospective petitioners may begin creating H-1B registrant accounts (account creation will remain open throughout the entire registration period).
March 1: H-1B registration period opens at noon ET.
March 20: H-1B registration period closes at noon ET.
March 31: Date by which USCIS intends to notify selected registrants.
April 1: The earliest date that H-1B petitions petitions may be filed.
USCIS instructions on how an employer can register in this year’s H-1B lottery can be found here.
This alert is for informational purposes only. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further.