Now is the Time to Get Ready!
Get ready for H-1B Cap Season 2021 now. All 2021 H-1B Cap cases must complete a Pre-Registration process for inclusion.
E&M Mayock’s Pre-Registration Program includes a full consultation, wage analysis, LCA Labor Condition Application filing with the Dept of Labor and Pre-Registration filing with USCIS Citizenship & Immigration Services. The all-inclusive fee for this first step is $1,500.
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 the USCIS rookie Pre-Registration season last March.
What We Learned:
• Pre-Registration requires tight coordination between employers and attorneys to navigate the cumbersome USCIS Pre-Registration system
• Wage and occupation analysis early in the Pre-Registration process is critical
• 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 2021 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, to successfully negotiate the Pre-Registration system and be prepared for swift filing of a strong H-1B petition.
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 qualification including reviewing 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.
• Wage and Occupation Analysis.
• Preparation and filing of LCA Labor Condition Application
• 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 2021, 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.
Under last year’s regulations, USCIS conducted a random, luck-based lottery 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. The new selection system will favor those workers offered wages in the higher rather than lower wage levels.
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 first Pre-Registration process. 274,273 Pre-Registrations were submitted in 2020. When the first tranche of winners was exhausted, a second draw was held in August 2020.
No one knows how many Pre-Registrations will be filed in 2021. The impact of COVID and the shift from luck to wage-based selection is unpredictable. In prior years – when full H-1B Visa Petition filings were required to participate in the lottery – the quota was exhausted and cap reached by the end of the 5-day April filing window: 201,011 petitions were filed in 2019, 190,000 in 2018 and 198,000 in 2017.
Current Uncertainty with Selection Process: Luck-based Lottery OR Highest Wage Offered?
The Trump Administration finalized new rules that will rank submissions for the Pre-Registration selection based on offered wage levels. These rules will become effective 3/10/2021 – unless they are delayed by the Biden Administration. Please stay tuned for the updates that we will provide, as the rules become solidified.
E&M Mayock is prepared to help you participate successfully under either selection system. Our Pre-Registration Program includes a Wage and Occupation Analysis that will provide employers with data to assess the likelihood of selection in the new wage-based system. It also includes the preparation and filing of an LCA Labor Condition Application with the US Department of Labor for Certification – a required pre-cursor for all H-1B Visa Petitions.
Full Petition Preparation $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.
