Now is the Time to Get Ready!

Get ready for H-1B Cap Season 2022 now.  All 2022 H-1B Cap cases must complete a Pre-Registration process for inclusion.

E&M Mayock’s Pre-Registration Program includes a attorney review and Pre-Registration filing with USCIS Citizenship & Immigration Services.  The all-inclusive fee for this first step is $500.

Please complete our H-1B Inquiry Form if you would like us to move forward with H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.

In 2020, USCIS launched an innovative Pre-Registration program to allow employers to participate in the H-1B lottery – without filing expensive H-1B Visa Petitions.   We gleaned important tips from previous USCIS H-1B Pre-Registration seasons.

What We Learned:

  • Pre-Registration requires tight coordination between employers and attorneys to navigate the cumbersome USCIS Pre-Registration system
  • Employers need attorney assistance with the “simple” registration process, now more than ever, to avoid disqualification through errors in the Pre-Registration process

E&M Mayock’s 2022 H-1B Pre-Registration Program

E&M Mayock has now begun accepting H-1B Cap Pre-Registration cases.  Our Program has been fine-tuned, based on lessons learned in 2020 and 2021, to successfully negotiate the Pre-Registration system and be prepared for swift filing of a strong H-1B petition.  We have simplified the process to allow for lower fees and less unnecessary preliminary case preparation.

Pre-Registration Program:

  • Employers and H-1B Cap Prospect Employees will fill out basic online questionnaires to provide the information required for H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.
  • Attorney will review basic H-1B qualifications, such as: educational credentials, company qualifications, employer / employee relationship and qualifying H-1B specialty occupation position.
  • Initial Attorney Consultation will be scheduled, if required, based on the attorney review.
  • Assistance with submission of Pre-Registration.
  • Tracking of Pre-Registration results.

H-1B Basics:

Today’s H-1B program does NOT require a showing of shortage of American workers.

It is expected that in early March 2022, USCIS Citizenship & Immigration Services will begin accepting H-1B Visa Pre-Registrations.  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.

For the past two years, USCIS has conducted random, luck-based lotteries of all applications submitted in the Pre-Registration period in order to select the Petitioners and Beneficiaries permitted to submit full H-1B Visa Petitions after April 1st.  We do not expect any changes in procedure or selection criteria this year.

The annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B visas includes 20,000 visas set aside for foreign workers who have completed a Masters degree at a U.S. non-profit university.

Last year, participation in the lottery was even more competitive than previous years, given the simplicity and low cost of participating in the Pre-Registration process.  308,613 Pre-Registrations were submitted in 2021. When the first tranche of winners was exhausted, second and third draws were held in July and November 2021.

No one knows how many Pre-Registrations will be filed in 2022.

Full Petition Preparation (after lottery selection) $3,500 + Costs:

Once selected in the H-1B lottery, Legal Fees of $3,500 + Required Government Filing Fees will be required in order to prepare and file a full H-1B Visa Petition with USCIS in the April – June filing window.  Results are usually known by the end of September.  NOTE that students on F-1 OPT Optional Practical Training require special handling, in order to insure “Cap-Gap” continuing work authorization thru September 30th.

Getting Started with Pre-Registration

Please complete our H-1B Inquiry Form if you would like us to move forward with H-1B Cap Pre-Registration.