United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Federal Register author aut Government Organization text government publication eng FR Regulatory Information 2019_register executive 2019-01-31 article Part II Rules and Regulations D09002ee1c7dc9100 D09002ee1c7dc96d9 United States Department of Homeland Security originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security ("DHS" or "the Department") regulations governing petitions filed on behalf of H-1B beneficiaries who may be counted toward the 65,000 visa cap established under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("H-1B regular cap") or beneficiaries with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education who are eligible for an exemption from the regular cap ("advanced degree exemption"). The amendments require petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") during a designated registration period, unless the registration requirement is temporarily suspended. USCIS is suspending the registration requirement for the fiscal year 2020 cap season to complete all requisite user testing of the new H-1B registration system and otherwise ensure the system and process are operable. This final rule also changes the process by which USCIS counts H-1B registrations (or petitions, for FY 2020 or any other year in which the registration requirement will be suspended), by first selecting registrations submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will then select from the remaining registrations a sufficient number projected as needed to reach the advanced degree exemption. Changing the order in which USCIS counts these separate allocations will likely increase the number of beneficiaries with a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for further processing under the H- 1B allocations. USCIS will proceed with implementing this change to the cap allocation selection process for the FY 2020 cap season (beginning on April 1, 2019), notwithstanding the delayed implementation of the H- 1B registration requirement. 84 FR 888 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2019-01-31/2019-00302 2019-00302 fr31ja19-15 RIN 1615-AB71 4000-01-P CIS No. 2326-19 DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0014 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2019-01-31/2019-00302 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-01-31/html/2019-00302.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-01-31/pdf/2019-00302.pdf Administrative Practice and Procedure Aliens Cultural Exchange Programs Employment Foreign Officials Health Professions Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Students 70 p. 888 957 84 FR 888 Title 8 Part 214 8 CFR Part 214 RIN 1615-AB71 Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking To File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens; Federal Register Vol. 84, Issue RULE 2019-00302 II DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 2019-04-01 CIS No. 2326-19 DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0014 4000-01-P 2019-00302 Final rule.

This final rule amends Department of Homeland Security ("DHS" or "the Department") regulations governing petitions filed on behalf of H-1B beneficiaries who may be counted toward the 65,000 visa cap established under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("H-1B regular cap") or beneficiaries with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions of higher education who are eligible for an exemption from the regular cap ("advanced degree exemption"). The amendments require petitioners seeking to file H-1B petitions subject to the regular cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, to first electronically register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") during a designated registration period, unless the registration requirement is temporarily suspended. USCIS is suspending the registration requirement for the fiscal year 2020 cap season to complete all requisite user testing of the new H-1B registration system and otherwise ensure the system and process are operable. This final rule also changes the process by which USCIS counts H-1B registrations (or petitions, for FY 2020 or any other year in which the registration requirement will be suspended), by first selecting registrations submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will then select from the remaining registrations a sufficient number projected as needed to reach the advanced degree exemption. Changing the order in which USCIS counts these separate allocations will likely increase the number of beneficiaries with a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education to be selected for further processing under the H- 1B allocations. USCIS will proceed with implementing this change to the cap allocation selection process for the FY 2020 cap season (beginning on April 1, 2019), notwithstanding the delayed implementation of the H- 1B registration requirement.

This final rule is effective April 1, 2019. Elizabeth Buten, Adjudications (Policy) Officer, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20529-2140; Telephone (202) 272- 8377. Administrative Practice and Procedure Aliens Cultural Exchange Programs Employment Foreign Officials Health Professions Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Students Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File H1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens , http://www.hoovers.com/ http://www.manta.com/ http://www.regulations.gov http://www.uscis.gov https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c011 https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/should-i-get-a-masters-degree.htm#STEM https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_03202018.pdf https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes131071.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2017/may/oes231011.htm https://www.cortera.com/ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/31/2018-11732/exercise-of-time-limited-authority-to-increase-the-fiscal-year-2018-numerical-limitation-for-the https://www.uscis.gov/legal-resources/buy-american-hire-american-putting-american-workers-first https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-will-temporarily-suspend-premium-processing-fiscal-year-2019-h-1b-cap-petitions https://www.uscis.gov/tools/reports-studies/reports-and-studies reginfo.gov www.reginfo.gov www.uscis.gov Vol. 84, no. 21 Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration 2019-01-31 continuing daily deposited born digital 457 p. Table of Contents: AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: KF70.A2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2019-01-31 P0b002ee19f127122 0097-6326 0042-1219 0364-1406 769-004-00000-9 000582072 f:fr31ja19 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2019-01-31 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-01-31/pdf/FR-2019-01-31.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-01-31/xml/FR-2019-01-31.xml fdlp 511 957 DGPO 2019-01-31 2024-05-31 FR-2019-01-31 machine generated eng FR FR-2019-01-31 84 21