The DHS issued its Fall 208 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and Regulatory Plan, which includes a proposal entitled “Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File H-1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap Subject Aliens.” It proposes the establishment of an electronic registration program for H-1B cap-subject petitions to allow US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to more efficiently manage the intake and selection process for H-1B cap petitions. This registration process will cover H-1B beneficiaries who may be counted under section 214(g)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (“H-1B regular cap”) or under section 214(g)(5)(C) of the INA (“H-1B master’s cap”).
The rule has not yet been published and it was sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on October 17, 2018. Once OMB completes its review, then it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, to which the public can comment. The DHS is trying to publish it for the Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B cap lottery, which opens on April 1, 2019.