E&M Mayock Announces 2020 H-1B Cap Pre-Registration 3 Tier Filing Program

2020 H-1B Professional Visa Season – Sign up for Pre-Registration Lottery Submission Now!

Inexpensive Pre-Registration for USCIS selection of 85,000 candidates now available in 2020 for the first time ever:  $100 via E&M Mayock

For the first time ever, USCIS has finally launched a Pre-Registration program to slash expenses for employers who seek to file a Visa Petition in the annual H-1B Professional Visa program.  Starting on the first day of the federal fiscal year – October 1st – only 85,000 new H-1B visas will be available.  20,000 of these are set aside for Masters [and higher] graduates of U.S. non-profit universities.

In the past, an entire Visa Petition needed to be filed in the first week of April, after which Candidates were selected in a luck-based lottery.  This year, the lottery will be conducted FIRST from a list of Pre-Registrants.  Only those Pre-Registered Candidates selected by USCIS may then have their Employer/Petitioner file a Visa Petition over the following 3 months.

Get ready for H-1B Cap Season 2020!  All 2020 H-1B Cap cases must complete a Pre-Registration process for inclusion in the 2020 H-1B Cap Lottery.  Visit https://emvisa.com/non-immigrant-temporary-working-visas/h1b-visa/ to use our online client portal to provide the basic information needed to begin the process to Pre-Register for the H-1B Cap Lottery.

2020 H-1B Cap Season Details

 

Pre-Registration Window: Sunday 1 – Friday 20 March, 2020

On December 6, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Pre-Registration requirement for employers seeking to file H-1B cap subject petitions in 2020.  Employers will be required to first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee per candidate, before filing a visa petition for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap.

USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020.

During this initial registration period, prospective Petitioners or their authorized representatives must electronically submit a separate registration, naming each foreign national for whom they seek to file an H-1B cap-subject petition.

Luck-based Selection Lottery

USCIS will randomly select the projected number of registrations as needed to reach the H-1B numerical allocations after the initial registration period closes and no later than March 31, 2020.

Prospective Petitioners with selected registrations will be eligible to file a cap-subject petition only for the selected foreign national Candidate named in the registration.

For H-1B visa petitions filed in 2020, the agency will not consider a cap-subject petition properly filed unless it is based on a valid registration selection for the same beneficiary. Although Petitioners can register multiple foreign nationals during a single online submission, duplicate registrations by the same Petitioner for the same Beneficiary in the same fiscal year will be discarded.

In the past few years, the annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B visas was exhausted by the end of the filing window.  Around 200,000 have been filed in each of the past three years.  More are expected this year.

The annual quota includes 20,000 H-1B visas set-aside for foreign workers who have completed a Masters degree [or higher] at a U.S. non-profit university.  Based on previous H-1B cap experience, we predict these graduates will have a better than 75% chance of selection in the lottery.

E&M Mayock’s H-1B Pre-Registration Program

E&M Mayock has now begun accepting H-1B Cap Pre-Registration cases for submission March 1-20.  Our 3-Tier Program provides services for a broad range of case complexity and filing needs.

Tier 1:  Initial Attorney Review and Registration: $100

Employers and H-1B Cap Prospect Employees will fill out basic online questionnaires to provide the information required for H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.  If, after Attorney Review, there are no apparent legal issues, the case will be prepared for Pre-Registration submission.  USCIS $10 fee included.

Tier 2: Advanced Attorney Review: Additional $250

If the information provided in the online questionnaires indicates that more information is required or raises complex legal issues, the case will move to Advanced Attorney Review.  A phone consultation may be scheduled to review issues that could arise in the case, or which require more extension documentation.

Tier 3: Full H-1B Visa Petition Preparation:  (Standard E&M Fee)

Once a candidate has been selected, the employer will have 3 months to file an H-1B visa petition with USCIS.  E&M is prepared to do this for our standard fee.  We will credit any funds paid pursuant to Tiers 1 or 2.  Most petitions will be decided by the first possible start date – 1 October 2020.  But others will languish awaiting USCIS review and decision due to agency backlogs and priorities.  PP Premium Processing [$1,440 additional and optional] may be available; USCIS has yet to announce.

We recognize that some H-1B employers may want to have a full petition ready for filing on April 1, 2020.  This will require preparation of an application before the lottery is completed.  Legal fees paid for petition preparation will not be refunded if the registration is not selected in the lottery.  Although preparing a full petition is no longer required, we offer “old school” case preparation for those inclined to get a jump on the April 1st filing window.

 

Volatile Immigration Political Environment; Challenges via RFE Request For Evidence are Common

 

If we have learned one thing over the past 3 years, it is that things can change quickly in the current highly charged political environment.  The Trump Administration’s immigration policies have created enormous chaos and confusion in the past.  We are dedicated to helping you navigate this process, but we are unable to guarantee that there will be no unforeseen challenges in the H-1B Pre-Registration process or procedure.  RFE Requests For Evidence have become common as USCIS challenges eligibility.  Preparation of a comprehensive RFE response will involve additional expense for employer Petitioners.

Getting Started – Online Questionnaires

To get started with Tier 1 Initial Attorney Review, please visit https://emvisa.com/non-immigrant-temporary-working-visas/h1b-visa/ to complete the Employer and Prospect H-1B Employee preliminary questionnaire.

If you have any questions, please contact us immediately at 415.765.5111 or H1B@emvisa.com.  Thank you!  We look forward to working with you to achieve your visa goals.