The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented significant changes to the H-1B visa application process, aiming to improve efficiency and collaboration for organizations and their legal representatives. Here are important updates for the FY 2025 H-1B cap season.  

New myUSCIS Organizational Account

Launched on February 28, 2024, the new myUSCIS organizational accounts benefit many individuals involved in the H-1B process. This includes HR professionals and company signatories who can now collaborate more effectively on petitions. Legal representatives and paralegals benefit from streamlined workflows, simplified document management, and the elimination of paper forms.  

Note: A new organizational account is mandatory for participating in the upcoming H-1B Electronic Registration Process starting in March 2024.

Key features of the new account system include:

• Online collaboration within groups: Team members within an organization, including legal representatives, can now work together seamlessly on H-1B registrations, petitions, and premium processing requests. This eliminates the need for email exchanges and ensures everyone involved has access to the latest information.

• Shared access to H-1B registrations, I-129, I-907, and G-28: All authorized users within an organizational account can view and work on shared documents, eliminating the need for multiple copies and ensuring everyone is working on the same version. This streamlines document management and reduces the risk of errors.

• Fully electronic H-1B/I-129 process: From initial registration to the final decision and transmission to the Department of State (DOS), the entire H-1B/I-129 petition process can now be completed electronically. This eliminates the need for paper forms and mailing, significantly reducing processing times and increasing efficiency.

• Streamlined digital handshake & G-28: The new system eliminates the need for the traditional paper Form G-28, Notice of Appearance, which previously designated an attorney or representative to act on behalf of the petitioner. This simplifies the process and reduces administrative burdens.

• Permissions-based roles: Organizations can assign specific roles and permissions to different users within the account, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access sensitive information and perform specific actions. This enhances security and data integrity.

Company Groups and Legal Teams: Collaborative Management

The new USCIS myUSCIS system introduces two structures for managing users: Company Groups and Legal Teams.

Company Groups

• Each company establishes at least one (ideally two) administrators who manage the group and its members.

• Members can be any authorized individuals within the company who need access to H-1B functions, such as HR professionals or designated signatories.

• There is no limit to the number of company groups or the number of people in a group. However, individuals can only belong to one group at a time, preventing duplicate access.  

Legal Teams

• Each legal team can only have one Attorney or Accredited Representative.

• Teams can include Paralegals as additional members (none, one, or more)

• Unlike company groups, legal teams can collaborate with multiple company groups. This allows a single legal representative to work on behalf of different companies within the USCIS system.

This segregated structure ensures clear ownership and accountability within company groups while enabling legal teams to manage their diverse client base efficiently.

Three Common Organizational Account Setups

Scenario 1: A company with no legal representative can have an administrator set up a company group and invite members like HR personnel to manage internal H-1B processes.

Scenario 2: An administrator sets up a company group and invites both internal members and a legal representative. This allows the company team to collaborate on filings and registrations with the representative.

Scenario 3: A legal representative initiates a company group, invites an administrator from the company, and then manages the group and associated filings on behalf of the company. This scenario is suitable when the legal representative takes the primary lead on the H-1B process.

Rules for Effective Use of myUSCIS Accounts

• Rule 1: Plan Before You Click

Planning is essential: Companies should carefully plan their account structure before anyone logs in to the system. This is crucial, as creating a company group is a one-way action. Once someone becomes an administrator, the group cannot be deleted.

Collaboration is key: Convene a meeting with relevant staff and your legal representative to discuss who will be designated as the administrator(s) and determine the order in which individuals will log in. This ensures a coordinated approach and avoids unintended consequences.

• Rule 2: Compartmentalized Collaboration

Multiple groups, limited collaboration: While companies can establish various company groups, it’s important to remember that these groups currently cannot directly collaborate. Collaboration and information sharing happen within a specific company group.

Permanency of groups: Currently, there is no functionality to merge or delete company groups.

• Rules 3-5: Working with Legal Representatives

Representatives on their own platform: Legal representatives must utilize their own dedicated legal representative accounts to file online forms and registrations on behalf of companies.

G-28 remains a requirement: Form G-28, Notice of Appearance, must still be submitted with every filing, even though the paper form has been replaced with a digital version within the system.

Limited access for representatives: Legal representatives can only access forms they initiate within the system. This ensures clear ownership and control over specific cases.

Notes for Legal Representatives  

• Legal representatives can accept invitations from an Administrator or invite an Administrator to collaborate.

• Legal representative creates Legal Team by inviting paralegal(s).

• Legal representatives cannot work on forms started by the company.

Roles & Permissions

Image source: USCIS

Addressing Technical Issues

USCIS is actively resolving technical issues that may have affected legal representatives whose accounts migrated during the February 14, 2024 update.

If you previously encountered issues while logging in after the migration, please try again to see if they have been resolved.

Important Dates and Requirements

H-1B Registration Period: Opens at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and closes at noon Eastern on March 22, 2024.

Registration Process: During this period, prospective petitioners and their representatives (if applicable) must use a USCIS online account to electronically register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee.

New Passport Requirement: Starting with the FY 2025 registration period, registrants must enter valid passport or travel document information for each beneficiary. This document must be the one they intend to use for entering the U.S. if granted an H-1B visa. Each beneficiary must only be registered under one passport or travel document.  

Online Filing Launching Soon

March 2024: Online filing will begin for Form I-129 and associated Form I-907 for non-cap H-1B petitions.

April 1, 2024: USCIS will start accepting online filing for H-1B cap petitions and associated Forms I-907 for petitioners with selected registrations.

OnBlick is committed to monitoring the USCIS and will promptly share the latest updates as soon as they become available. To discover how OnBlick streamlines your H-1B case management, click here.

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