Your Intro to the H1-B Visa Process
Exciting news for employers eagerly anticipating the 2024 H-1B cap initial registration period! Federal immigration officials have officially announced that registration will open between March 1 to March 17, 2023. Employers can register for the H-1B cap using USCIS’s online registration system.
The H-1B visa, as a reminder, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. It is particularly popular in the tech industry, where employers are looking for highly skilled workers to fill positions such as software engineers, data analysts, and scientists.
However, the H-1B visa program is subject to an annual cap, limiting the number of visas issued each year. The H-1B cap is set at 85,000 visas per year. 65,000 are reserved for workers in specialty occupations and an additional 20,000 for workers with advanced degrees from US universities.
Employers may want to pursue the H-1B visa for their employees because it allows them to fill critical positions with highly skilled workers who may not be available in the US labor market. Businesses can bring in top talent from around the world, increasing the diversity of their workforce, driving innovation, and contributing to the US economy as a whole.
What to do as an employer
If you’re an employer planning to register for the H-1B visa, it’s a good idea to start reviewing your employee roster now to determine who you want to register. You can also set up a “registrant” account on USCIS’s online registration portal starting on February 21. However, you won’t be able to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration fee until March 1.
If USCIS receives enough registrations by the closing date, they will select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts by March 31. Given the high demand for H-1B visas in recent years, it’s likely that this year’s registration period will once again see more registrations than available slots.
We’ll keep a close eye on further developments and provide updates. Stay tuned for more information!
