The H-1B visa process will begin on March 6 amid an overhaul of the lottery system
The beneficiary-centric process selects registrations based on a unique beneficiary rather than on registration.
New York: Initial registration for the H-1B visa application for the 2025 fiscal year will open from March 6 and run through March 22, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Tuesday.
The announcement came as part of a final rule to strengthen integrity and reduce the potential for fraud in the nonimmigrant visa registration process that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialized occupations.
Some of the steps the federal agency has taken include reducing opportunities to use the registration system and ensuring that every beneficiary has the same chance of being selected, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on his behalf.
“The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open on March 6, 2024 at noon Eastern and will continue until March 22, 2024 at noon Eastern,” USCIS said in a press release.
“During this period, potential petitioners and their representatives, if applicable, must use an online USCIS account to electronically register each beneficiary for the selection process and pay the associated registration fees for each beneficiary,” it added.
The agency's final rule includes provisions that will create a grantee-focused selection process for employer registrations, codify start date flexibility for certain petitions subject to the Congressionally imposed H-1B cap, and expand integrity measures will add regarding the registration process.
“We are always looking for ways to strengthen integrity and reduce the potential for fraud while improving and streamlining our application processes,” said USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou.
“The improvements in these areas should make H-1B selections fairer for petitioners and beneficiaries and will allow the H-1B process to be fully electronic from registration, if applicable, to final decision and dispatch of approved petitions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .”
The beneficiary-centric process selects registrations based on a unique beneficiary rather than on registration.
This new process is designed to reduce the risk of fraud and ensure that every beneficiary has the same chance of being selected, regardless of the number of registrations submitted by an employer on his or her behalf.
Beginning with the initial registration period of fiscal year 2025, USCIS will require registrants to provide valid passport information or valid travel document information for each beneficiary.
The passport or travel document provided must be the passport or travel document that the beneficiary, if or when abroad, intends to use to enter the U.S. if granted an H-1B visa.
Each beneficiary may only be registered under one passport or travel document, the USCIS said.