Simple and smart changes for H-1B cap-subject petitioners: Donald Trump's new H1-B system

Washington, January 31: “The simple and smart changes are a positive benefit for employers, the foreign workers they seek to employ, and the agency's adjudicators, helping the H-1B visa programme work better,” said USCIS Director Francis Cissna.

Foreign workers who have received higher education from the US, the Trump administration on Wednesday formally announced a new rule related to the filing of H-1B visas, asserting that it is more efficient, effective and helps in attracting the best talent in the US.

The final rule reverses the order by which US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B petitions under the regular cap and the advanced degree exemption.

Among other things, it introduces an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

The H-1B visa, popular among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Effective from April 1, USCIS will first select H-1B petitions (or registrations, once the registration requirement is implemented) submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Only those whose registrations are selected will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition.

The new rule will go into effect on April 1, though the electronic registration requirement will be suspended for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season, USCIS said.