The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the H-1B cap for the fiscal year (FY) 2024. The agency has confirmed that sufficient registrations for the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) have also been received.

What Should Registrants Check?

To reach the cap, USCIS randomly selected from among the registrations properly submitted during the initial registration period, which ran from March 1 to March 17, 2023. The agency has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations about their eligibility to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in the applicable registration chosen. Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each registration (that is, for each beneficiary registered):

Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. Even if the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible (unless subsequently invalidated) for selection in the next round of selections for FY 2024.

Selected: The registration has been selected to file an H-1B cap petition.

Denied: The registration has been rejected since multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If the denial is due to a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the FY are invalid.

Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted, but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid.

If you require more information, visit this USCIS page.

FY 2024 H-1B Cap Petitions May Be Filed Starting April 1

Here are some points to note:

• H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024, including those petitions eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may be filed with USCIS beginning April 1, 2023, if based on a valid, selected registration.

• H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2024 can be filed only by petitioners with selected registrations and only for the beneficiary named in the applicable selected registration notice.

• H-1B cap-subject petition must be filed appropriately with the correct service center and within the filing period indicated on the relevant registration selection notice.

• The period for filing the H-1B cap-subject petition will be at least 90 days.

• Online filing is not yet available for H-1B petitions, so petitioners filing H-1B petitions must do so by paper.

• Petitioners must include a printed copy of the applicable registration selection notice with the FY 2024 H-1B cap-subject petition.

• Petitioners filing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those petitions eligible for the master’s cap, must establish eligibility for petition approval at the time the petition is filed and through adjudication, based on existing statutory and regulatory requirements.

Note: Selection in the registration process does not exempt the petitioner from submitting evidence or establishing eligibility. Initial registration selection only concerns eligibility to file the H-1B cap-subject petition.

For more information, visit the H-1B Cap Season page.

Receipt Notice Delays

When USCIS receives a timely and properly filed H-1B cap subject petition, the petitioner (and, if applicable, the petitioner’s legal representative) will be provided a Form I-797, Notice of Action, communicating receipt of the petition.

As per the agency, due to increased filing volumes typically seen during H-1B cap filing periods, there are instances where a petition is timely and properly filed, but issuance of the Form I-797 is delayed.

• If you are a petitioner and have confirmation from the delivery service that the petition was delivered, but you have not yet received a Form I-797 confirming receipt of the petition, you should not submit a second petition.

• If you have confirmation from the delivery service that the petition was delivered and you then submit a second petition, you will be considered to have submitted duplicate petitions. This will result in denial or revocation of both petitions.

• If more than 30 days have passed since the confirmation of delivery and you have still not received a Form I-797, you may contact the USCIS Contact Center for assistance.

• If you receive notification from the delivery service, or your tracking information suggests, that there may be a delay or damage to the package or that the package was misrouted, you should follow the Delivery Service Error Guidance on the H-1B Cap Season webpage.

OnBlick: HR and Immigration Compliance Solution

The H-1B filing process demands a lot of care and attention. Employers like you require expert guidance to avoid any errors or pitfalls that could lead to a denial or delay of the petition. OnBlick has an H-1B case management system as one of its core features. It offers an H-1B Checklist, SOC Case Management and Prevailing Wage Documentation Predictor, E-Signatures, and Public Access File Automation.

This H-1B cap season, integrate with OnBlick and improve your chances of approval. Book a quick OnBlick demo to learn more.

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