Proposed H-1B Cap Registration Fee Rule Published by DHS

By John F. Quill

On November 7, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the publication of a final rule regarding a $10 filing fee for H-1B cap registration. The rule becomes effective on December 9, and confirms that as part of H-1B cap registration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will collect a $10 fee for each H-1B cap registration submission.

In the announcement of the final rule, USCIS again stated its plan to implement H-1B cap registration for the FY2021 H-1B cap season, for filing in March or April 2020 and an effective date of October 1, 2020. As previously advised by Mintz, employers that sponsor cap-subject H-1B petitions should be prepared for the likelihood that the registration process will be in place for the upcoming H-1B cap season. For additional background information on the H-1B quota and the proposed H-1B registration system, please view our prior Alert here.

In addition to the announcement of USCIS’s continued plan to implement H-1B registration for the coming cap season, the final rule confirms some specifics on the payment of the $10 registration fee, including the following details:

  • Payment can be made from a bank account, credit card or debit card. Payment cannot be paid by a check or money order;
  • The system will accept batch payments, so an employer or attorney may submit multiple registrations at one time and make a single payment; employers can also make multiple batch registration submissions at different times during the registration window;
  • DHS will utilize its Pay.gov payment portal for fee collection; and
  • The $10 registration fee is nonrefundable.

The announcement also confirmed that USCIS is still testing its registration system. Assuming that USCIS does move forward with H-1B registration for the FY2021 cap season, the implementation time frame and registration filing window will be announced in a notice published by DHS in the Federal Register.

The Mintz Immigration Section will host a webinar on H-1B cap registration for everyone on our immigration mailing list, to be scheduled once the DHS notice is issued. You can subscribe to our mailing list here.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your Mintz Immigration attorney.

 

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    John F. Quill

    Member / Chair, Immigration Practice

    John’s practice encompasses all aspects of immigration and nationality law. John draws on over two decades of experience to help companies and their employees obtain nonimmigrant visas, including B, E, H, J, L, O, and TN visas. He also handles applications for PERM labor certification; extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher, and national interest waiver petitions; adjustment of status procedures; consular processing; and naturalization.