The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced today that the final rule amending DHS regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions will be published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2019, and will become effective on April 1, 2019.
The new rule implements the electronic registration requirement, but suspends it for the FY2020 H-1B cap season. The rule also reverses the order in which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will select cap subject H-1B petitions. USCIS will first select, in a random lottery, a sufficient number of H‑1B registrations (or petitions when the registration requirement is suspended) submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to meet the H-1B cap. USCIS will then select from the remaining registrations (or petitions), also in a random lottery, a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the advanced degree exemption.
For a more detailed discussion on how this new rule changes the selection process for H-1B cap-subject petitions, please see our prior post.