USCIS announced that the initial registration period for cap-subject H-1B lottery for the Fiscal Year 2022 will open at noon EST on March 9 and run through noon EST on March 25. USCIS will notify the selected registrants by March 31 and permit the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions for selected beneficiaries as early as April 1. Contact us for assistance with the H-1B Registration process, or to learn more about H-1B sponsorship.
As we approach the new H-1B season, we have seen further steps by the Biden Administration to roll back changes made under the prior administration, including:
On February 4, 2021, USCIS published an advance copy of a final rule delaying the effective date of the rule that would have replaced the current randomized cap-subject H-1B lottery selection process with a wage-based and education-based selection process. The effective date of the rule has been pushed back to December 31, 2021, giving the Biden Administration time to reexamine the rule. Consequently the Fiscal Year 2022 H-1B Lottery will remain randomized.
On February 3, 2021, USCIS rescinded its 2017 policy memorandum impacting H-1B sponsorship for Computer Programmer positions based on the “specialty occupation” determination. The rescission of the 2017 guidance, which had instructed USCIS officers to treat Computer Programming as an occupation not “normally” requiring a bachelor’s degree for entry, came as a result of the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Innova Solutions v. Baran, No. 19-16849 (9th Cir. 2020). There, the Court ruled that USCIS’ denial of the H-1B visa was arbitrary and capricious and that USCIS misconstrued the language of the Occupational Outlook Handbook in an attempt to support an unfounded claim. Based on the restoration of USCIS’ 2000 guidance, Computer Programmer may once again be considered a specialty occupation.