Significant USCIS Changes to H-1B Cap Season and Filing Fees
There are some significant changes to H-1B cap season and USCIS filing fees, which are very important for you to know. Please continue reading below to learn all about them. And, of course, feel free to contact your KLF immigration professional with whom you normally work if you have any questions or concerns. If you are not yet a client of our firm, you are also welcome to contact us with any questions at info@klugfirm.com, (212) 495-9245, or our website contact form.
This client alert supplements our prior client alert and recent webinar, both of which provided a comprehensive rundown on H-1B cap season, as well as many helpful tips. It’s not too late to catch our webinar - you can watch the recording here.
Changes to H-1B Cap Season Finalized
On January 30, 2024, USCIS announced a series of changes that will impact the FY2025 H-1B cap lottery registration system and filing season.
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Registration Period Dates Announced
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The FY2025 Initial H-1B registration period will run from 12 noon (ET) on March 6, 2024, through 12 noon (ET) on March 22, 2024.
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Please do not wait until the last minute to discuss with us which foreign national employees you would like to enter into the H-1B lottery. We warmly welcome you to reach out to us for assistance in identifying these employees, especially as it can often be difficult to determine which types of employees should be entered.
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New USCIS “Organizational Accounts”
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The new USCIS "Organizational Accounts" which for the first time enable online filing for I-129 work visa petitions, will launch on February 28, 2024, for non-cap H-1B petitions.
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Organizational Accounts will replace Registrant Accounts and will be required during the H-1B lottery registration period.
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Corporate H-1B registrants may begin creating or upgrading to the new Organizational Accounts as of 12 noon ET on February 28, 2024.
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Accounts may begin to be created, or updated as appropriate, but must wait until March 6 to enter beneficiary information.
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H-1B cap-subject online filing will open on April 1, 2024
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Although there are likely to be some initial kinks to work out, we view this as a very positive development that USCIS has finally moved from paper-based to online filing for I-129 work visa petitions. This should ultimately make the process much easier for all parties involved.
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H-1B Registration Final Rule
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USICS published the Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity final rule, which will go into effect on March 4, 2024, in time for the start of the H-1B cap lottery registration period.
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The most significant takeaway from this final rule is that the H-1B lottery registration process will now be “beneficiary-centric,” meaning that each individual foreign national employee will only be able to enter the lottery one time.
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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.
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In prior years, foreign nationals could enter multiple times with multiple employer sponsors, and this led to an incredible 780,884 registrations filed for the mere 65,000 slots (plus 20,000 for those with qualifying US masters degrees) last year.
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This change should significantly increase the chances of selection for employees you enter into the lottery.
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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.
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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.
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At this time, DHS is not finalizing other provisions of the “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers” Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published on 10/23/2023 which we discussed in a prior client alert.
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Fee Schedule Final Rule
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USCIS published the revised Fee Schedule final rule, which will go into effect on April 1, 2024 (more on this in the next section below). All H-1B petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2024, will be required to pay the following new fees:
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For purposes of illustration, an H-1B petition with premium processing for an employer with 26 or more FTEs will now incur total government filing fees of $6,185 ($780 base petition fee + $500 Anti-Fraud Fee + $1,500 ACWIA Fee + $600 Asylum Program Fee + $2,805 Premium Processing Fee).
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Although the Fee Schedule final rule increases the fee for the H-1B registration from $10 to $215, this change will not be in effect in time for this year’s cap season, so the fee will remain at $10 for this year.
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Premium Processing Fee Increases
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Additionally, USCIS announced a final rule adjusting the premium processing fees, which will increase filing fees for Form I-907, effective February 26, 2024.
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For Form I-129, the new premium processing fee is $2,805. Any form received by USCIS with a postmark on or after February 26, 2024, with incorrect filing fees, will be rejected.
USCIS Filing Fee Changes
On January 30, 2024, USCIS announced that it had published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016.
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The new fees under the final rule will go into effect on April 1, 2024.
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USCIS published a helpful FAQ regarding the Fee Schedule final rule, which you can find here.
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The changes to H-1B registration fees and H-1B petition fees are discussed above.
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As mentioned above, there will be a new additional fee called the “Asylum Program Fee,” that must be paid in addition to the current fees for each I-129 and I-140 petition. This fee is $300 for small employers (25 or less FTEs) and $600 for all other employers. Nonprofits are exempted.
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L-1 petition base fees will increase from $460 to $695 for small employers (25 or less FTEs) and nonprofits, and $1,385 for all other employers.
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For purposes of illustration, an L-1 I-129 initial petition with premium processing for an employer with 26 or more FTEs will now incur total government filing fees of $5,290 ($1,385 base petition fee + $500 Anti-Fraud Fee + $600 Asylum Program Fee + $2,805 Premium Processing Fee).
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The change in O-1 petition fees is similar, from $460 to $530 for small employers and nonprofits and $1,055 for all other employers.
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There are modest increases to the fees for the I-140 employer-sponsored immigrant petition ($700 to $715), I-539 extension ($370 to $470 for paper filing), and I-130 immediate relative petition ($535 to $675).
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The increase for I-485 Adjustment of Status is also modest ($1,225 to $1,440 for adults and $750 to $950 for children under the age of 14), although it will no longer include the fees for I-765 Employment Authorization (EAD) and I-131 Advance Parole travel authorization (AP). This will add an additional $890 to the fees for I-485 applications for a total of $2,330 for adults and $1,840 for children ($260 additional for the I-765 and $630 additional for the I-131).
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Naturalization fees will decrease slightly, from $725 to $710 (online filing).
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The most dramatic increase is for EB-5 I-526 petitions, from $3,675 to $11,160.
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Premium Processing will now change from calendar days to business days.
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15 business days instead of 15 calendar days for eligible I-129 petitions and I-140 petitions (~3 weeks instead of the current ~2 weeks).
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45 business days instead of calendar days for EB1C Multinational Manager and NIW I-140 petitions (~9 weeks instead of the current ~6 weeks).
Klug Law Firm is committed to delivering the Highest Quality Legal Work, Exceptional Client Service, and a Caring Approach for your organization's business immigration needs. Let us be your trusted partner in navigating the complexities of immigration law. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and initiate your organization's first step toward a successful corporate immigration program.
Please contact us at info@klugfirm.com or (212) 495-9245 for assistance.
You can access our previous Client Alerts here.
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