The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the introduction of a set of customer experience improvements for H-1B visa applications, mainly focusing on digitalization.
USCIS announced that the enhancement includes the introduction of organizational accounts as well as the online filling of visa applications and premium processing requests, VisaGuide.World reports.
Such accounts will permit multiple individuals within an organization, also taking into account companies and business entities and their legal representatives, to collaborate and prepare H-1B registrations.
The new changes are expected to further increase efficiency and also facilitate the process for organizations as well as their legal representatives when filling Form l-129 (Application for a
Non-immigrant Worker) and the associated Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing).
USCIS is always striving to improve and streamline our processes, and this is a big step forward. Once we launch the organizational accounts and online filing of I-129 H-1B petitions, the entire H-1B lifecycle becomes fully electronic — from registration, if applicable, to our final decision and transmission to the Department of State.
USCIS expects to launch organisational accounts in February 2024, and soon after, applicants will be able to submit Forms l-129 and l-907 online. This aims to make the H-1B petition process smooth and reduce mistakes such as duplicate registrations.
In addition, through a press release, USCIS announced that it is moving the paper filing location for Forms I-129 and I-907 from service centers to the USCIS lockbox. Such a decision comes as part of efforts to make things more efficient by standardizing processes and reducing costs.
USCIS will host two national engagements on organizational accounts on Jan. 23 and 24 as well as several smaller sessions leading up to the H-1B registration period to help guide organizations and legal representatives through the process.
During these sessions, persons will be eligible to ask questions regarding the organizational accounts in preparation for the Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B electronic registration process and the launch of online filing of Form l-129 for H-1B petitions.
The USCIS has encouraged all persons involved in the H-1B registration and petition filing process to attend such engagements while stressing that invitations in this regard will be sent later this month.
In October last year, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unfolded a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the further modernization of the H-1B temporary work visa program.
Among the changes published by the USCIS are streamlining eligibility requirements, strengthening integrity measures, and improving program efficiency.