January 31, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announcement a final rule to strengthen the integrity measures of the H-1B Visa Program. The measures include various updates to the H-1B registration process, implementation of online filing of crucial H-1B forms, fee changes, and more.
“We are always looking for ways to strengthen integrity and reduce the risk of fraud while improving and streamlining our application processes,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Improvements in these areas should make H-1B selections more equitable for petitioners and beneficiaries.”
Here is a general overview of the changes included in the latest USCIS H-1B final rule:
Final H-1B Registration Rule
To reduce potential fraud during H-1B registration, USCIS announced a series of changes that will make the H-1B lottery and selection process more fair and “beneficiary-centered.”
Under the new process, selections will be based on single beneficiaries rather than registrations as a whole. This updated approach aims to minimize the risk of fraud and guarantees each beneficiary an equal chance of selection, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf by an employer. Starting in 2025, USCIS will also require valid passport or travel document information for each beneficiary registering for the H-1B lottery.
H-1B Cap Registration Dates for FY 2025
USCIS announced that the registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap season will open at 12:00 p.m. EST on March 6, 2024 and continue until 12:00 p.m. EST on March 22, 2024 .
You can learn more about H-1B cap season and how to register The limitless guide.
H-1B Fee Changes
On January 31, USCIS also finalized significant changes to its pricing structure. New filing fees for most applications, including H-1B petitions, will take effect April 1, 2024. For H-1B petitions, Form I-129 will increase from $460 to $780. All H-1B petitions mailed after April 1, 2024 will be charged the new, higher fees. NOTE: H-1B registration fees will only increase next year — fees will increase significantly, from $10 to $215.
The increased processing costs for H-1B applications (when filing Form I-907) will also be increase on February 26, 2024, from $2,500 to $2,805.
Organizational Accounts and Online Filing of Forms I-129 and I-907
USCIS previously announcement a series of customer enhancements to the H-1B program, including the launch of organizational accounts and online filing of Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) and Form I-907 (Application for Premium Processing Service).
According to the latest update from USCIS, the new organizational accounts will go live on February 28, 2024. Online filing of Form I-129 and Form I-907 for uncapped H-1B petitions will also be available on February 28, 2024. On April 1, USCIS will begin accepting online filing of applications for H-1B cap petitions.
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