USCIS just announced that the period for employers to register employees for the upcoming H-1B lottery will run from March 6, 2024 to March 22, 2024. Employers may set up their accounts as early as February 28, 2024. Having such accounts set up will offer employers a chance to file certain H-1B forms electronically online.
One important update will include a change to the lottery system. Starting this year, the system will be “beneficiary-centric.” That is, in the past, USCIS would select candidates per registration. The new system will select candidates based on unique passport or travel document numbers. With this new system, if an individual has five different employers registering her, she will only have one chance of being selected, whereas the previous system offered the same individual five chances. USCIS believes that this change will “reduce the potential for fraud and ensure each beneficiary would have the same chance of being selected.”
Another important update will be the filing fees associated with filing an H-1B petition. While the lottery registration fee will remain at $10 this March, it will increase to $215 for next year’s lottery. In addition, the filing fees for an H-1B starting April 1, 2024, will be as follows:
$780 ($460 for small employers (defined as having less than 25 FTE) and nonprofits)
$500 anti-fraud fee for initial H-1B
$1500 training fee ($750 for small employers)
$2805 for premium processing (optional)
$600 asylum program fee (NEW) ($300 for small employers and $0 for nonprofits)
The above information has been provided for informational purposes only. Please contact your Clark Lau attorney for how the above applies to you.