As part of efforts to strengthen the integrity of the H-1B visa and reduce the potential for fraud during the registration process, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a new final rule.
Through the new rule, the USCIS also aims to mitigate the risk of fraud during the H-1B registration process, taking into account reducing the potential for gaming the registration system and ensuring each beneficiary would have the exact same chance of being selected, in spite of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf, VisaGuide.World reports.
In a statement, the USCIS also announced the initial registration period dates for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap and the introduction of an online filing option for Forms l-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form l-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for H-1B petitioners.
We’re always looking for ways to bolster integrity and curtail the potential for fraud while improving and streamlining our application processes. The improvements in these areas should make H-1B selections more equitable for petitioners and beneficiaries and will allow for the H-1B process to be fully electronic from registration, if applicable, until final decision and transmission of approved petitions to the Department of State.
The new changes aim to make the process of selecting beneficiaries more focused on their needs. It also establishes flexibility in start dates for certain petitions under the mandated H-1B cap. In addition, the rule includes measures that aim further to enhance the integrity of the H-1B registration process.
Following the beneficiary-centric process, registrations will be selected by unique beneficiaries rather than by registration.
Starting with the FY 2025 initial registration period, 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 one the beneficiary, if or when abroad, intends to use to enter the United States if issued an H-1B visa.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has also clarified that some petitions subject to the congressionally mandated H-1B cap can now be filed with employment start dates after October 1 of the relevant fiscal year, thus aligning with the existing policy.
The final rule also codifies the ability of the USCIS to deny or revoke petitions where the underlying registration contained a false attestation or was otherwise invalid.
In addition, the USCIS also announced the Fee Schedule final rule, which will become effective after the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap. It emphasizes that the registration fee during the registration period, beginning in March 2024, will remain $10.