Time To Start Preparing for H-1B Cap Petitions for FY 2022
The Immigration Group at Ryan Swanson advises employers to start early preparation of H-1B petitions subject to the annual quota for the 2022 fiscal year.
Under the current H-1B cap electronic registration process, employers are required to pre-register for the H-1B lottery, and then submit H-1B cap registrations during the month of March 2021. Specifically, employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the 2022 fiscal year, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register each individual they wish to sponsor for H-1B status, and pay the associated $10 fee for each registration. The initial registration period is anticipated to be open to employers in March 2021. USCIS will then run the H-1B selection process or “lottery” based on those registrations. Only those H-1B petitions with a selected registration will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition during a 90-day period, which is expected to begin on April 1, 2021 and end on June 30, 2021.
As background, Congress has imposed an annual limit of 65,000 H-1B visas available to individuals with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent work experience), and an additional 20,000 H-1B visas available to individuals who have a U.S. Master’s degree. The overall chance for selection is generally less than 50%. Last year, USCIS received nearly 275,000 H-1B registrations.
We recommend that employers initiate any H-1B cap-subject petitions well in advance of the anticipated March 2021 registration period to ensure timely submission of the registration. If an H-1B registration is selected in the lottery, the employer may then file an H-1B cap petition on the employee’s behalf. The current filing fees for an H-1B petition include a $460 filing fee, $500 anti-fraud fee, and an ACWIA Training Fee of $1,500 (if the employer has 25 or more employees), or $750 (if the employer has fewer than 25 employees). If premium processing is available for H-1B cap petitions this year, employers may request premium processing for an additional $2,500 fee.
Visit our blog to stay up to date on all the latest immigration developments and alerts.
Please contact our immigration attorneys in Seattle if your company is considering sponsoring any individuals for H-1B status under the annual quota this year.
This message has been released by the Immigration Group at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC to advise of recent developments in the law. Because each situation is different, this information is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any specific facts and circumstances.
Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC is a full-service law firm in Seattle, Washington. Our attorneys provide advice for Pacific Northwest businesses in matters of business law, corporate bankruptcy, community associations, COVID-19 legal support, employment rights, estate planning, food and beverage, franchise & distribution, healthcare, insurance, investment advice, licensing and technology, litigation, real estate, retail and manufacturing, securities litigation, start ups, trademarks and intellectual property, trust and estate litigation, and other business-related areas of the law.
Originally published at https://ryanswansonlaw.com.
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