The registrations for the most-sought after H-1B visa would start on March 1 and remain open till March 18, 2022. During this period, the petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using the online H-1B registration system, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in a press release.
“USCIS will assign a confirmation number to each registration submitted for the FY 2023 H-1B cap. This number is used solely to track registrations; you cannot use this number to track your case status in Case Status Online,” it said.
“Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively known as “registrants”) will use a “registrant” account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on Feb. 21,” the statement added.
“Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. Prospective petitioners or their representatives will be able to submit registrations for multiple beneficiaries in a single online session. Through the account, they will be able to prepare, edit, and store draft registrations prior to final payment and submission of each registration,” the release said.
Prospective petitioners will be selected “randomly if we receive enough registrations” by March 18, and selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts will be sent to account holders by March 31, it said.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
Every year, the US issues 65,000 new H-1B visas, with another 20,000 reserved for US Masters’ degree holders.
Indians have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this visa program, receiving about 70% of the new visas issued each year.
