USCIS Announces Final Rule to Modify the H-1B Registration Process

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule to minimize fraud in the H-1B registration process by creating a beneficiary-centric selection process. Under the beneficiary centric process, registrations will be selected by unique beneficiary rather than by registration. This new process is designed to reduce the potential for fraud and ensure each beneficiary would have the same chance of being selected, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf by an employer. Starting with the FY2025 initial registration period, USCIS will require registrants to provide valid passport information or valid travel document information for each beneficiary. 

Additionally, the H-1B final rule codifies USCIS’ ability to deny or revoke H-1B petitions where the underlying registration contained a false attestation or was otherwise invalid. Also under the new rule, USCIS may deny or revoke the approval of an H-1B petition if it determines that the fee associated with the registration is declined, not reconciled, disputed, or otherwise invalid after submission. 

The registration fee during the registration period will remain $10 in FY2025, but will increase to the new fee of $215 in FY2026. 

Employers may contact the attorneys at Iandoli, Desai & Cronin at info@iandoli.com with inquiries on registering a foreign national in the FY2025 H-1B lottery.