DHS Announces Proposed Rulemaking for Administration of the H-1B Cap

DHS has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking indicating the intent to amend regulations governing USCIS administration of the H-1B cap. The proposed rule would require petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions to first register electronically during a designated registration period. USCIS would select a sufficient number of petitions from among the registrations to meet the H-1B cap. USCIS also proposes to change the USCIS selection process by first selecting registrations submitted on behalf of all beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption. USCIS would then select from the remaining registrations a sufficient number projected as needed to reach the advanced degree exemption. USCIS indicates that changing the order in which USCIS counts these separate allocations would 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.