The registration process for H-1B cap-subject petitions will open at noon on March 9 and remain open until noon on March 25. The Department of Homeland Security announced it will delay the effective date of the wage-based selection process and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will complete a random lottery of the petitions submitted to select the 85,000 petitions for the H-1B cap (65,000 for the general category and 20,000 for the U.S. advanced degree category). Applicants selected in the random lottery will be notified by March 31 and will have 90 days from selection to submit the H-1B petition for the beneficiary named in the registration.
Varnum immigration attorneys have begun to collect information to be prepared for the March registration period. Employers with employees on F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) or candidates needing cap-subject H-1Bs should contact us by mid-February for assistance with the registration.