On December 6, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) announced that it has completed pilot testing
and is implementing the long-anticipated electronic registration
tool for the next H-1B lottery of fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B visas.
In its announcement, USCIS indicated that the initial H-1B
cap registration period will run from March 1, 2020 through March
20, 2020, and selected cases may be submitted starting April
1. Previously, on Nov. 8, 2019, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) published a final rule establishing a $10 fee for
each H-1B registration submitted by petitioners.
This registration process will not apply to H-1B transfers
(between employers) or extensions of status applications. It will
only impact new H-1B visas subject to the annual quota or
"cap" of 65,000 visas (Regular cap) and an additional cap
of 20,000 H-1B visas available for "specialty worker"
beneficiaries with advanced degrees from US colleges or
universities (US
