USCIS Announces Strengthening Measures For H-1B Visa Processing

US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced a change of rule for the H-1B visa for the fiscal year 2025. The move came in lieu to fortify the transparency and integrity of the H-1B registration process and to mitigate fraud risks.

By reducing the potential for manipulating the registration system and ensuring equal chances of selection to each beneficiary, USCIS aims to strengthen integrity measures. Services has announced an online filing option for H-1B petitioners. The prospects for the H-1B process to be fully electronic from registration until final decision and transmission of approved petition to the Department of State will bring improvements in the H-1B selection process.

“We are always looking for ways to bolster integrity and curtail the potential for fraud while improving and streamlining our application processes”, said Ur M. Jaddou, USCIS Director.

What are H-1B Visas?

• It is a temporary, non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
• The visa is issued for a maximum of six years in two three-year allotments.
• It is available to positions that require at least a bachelor’s degree in a particular field.
• The minimum salary for H-1B employees varies based on factors like job type, experience, and location.

H-1B Registration Final Rule

The final rule contains provisions to create a beneficiary-centric selection process for registration by employers, codify start date flexibility for certain petitions and add more integrity measures.

Under the beneficiary centric process, registration will be selected by a unique beneficiary rather than by registration. The new process expects to reduce fraud and ensure chance to each beneficiary. Under the new rules, USCIS requires registrants to provide valid passport information or travel documents. Each beneficiary must only be registered under one passport or travel document.

Additionally, H-1B rules codifies USCIS’ ability to revoke or deny petition to the false or invalid attestation.

According to the official information, the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open on March 6, 2024 till March 22, 2024. Also on Feb 28, USCIS will launch online filing of Form I-129 and associated Form I-907 for non-cap H-1B petitions.