US H-1B Visa Updates: Lottery & Organizational Accounts

By Sanwar Ali:

Online Filing

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to reshape the H-1B visa application process. The recently launched organizational account system is rapidly expanding in functionality, bringing significant changes for the FY 2025 season and beyond. Understanding these updates is crucial for companies and their legal representatives.

Organizational Accounts: The Foundation of the New Process

A myUSCIS organizational account is now mandatory for participating in the H-1B lottery registration process. These accounts offer several advantages for HR professionals, company signatories, lawyers, and paralegals, including:

• Enhanced Collaboration: Team members collaborate on H-1B registrations, petitions, and premium processing requests within the secure online system, eliminating reliance on email chains.
• Centralized Document Management: Authorized users share access to H-1B filings, including Forms I-129, I-907, and the digital G-28 (replacing the previous paper form), streamlining management, reducing errors, and improving organization.
• Evolving Towards Fully Electronic Process: This system lays the groundwork for potentially moving the entire H-1B process online, significantly reducing processing times and increasing efficiency.
• Permissions-Based Roles: Organizations can assign specific roles and permissions, ensuring only authorized individuals access sensitive information and perform actions. This enhances security and data integrity.

Key Features of the New Account System

• Online Collaboration Within Groups: Team members, including legal representatives if applicable, seamlessly work together on registrations, petitions, and premium processing requests.
• Shared Access: Authorized users view and work on H-1B registrations, I-129, I-907, and the digital G-28, reducing redundancy and errors.
• Fully Electronic H-1B/I-129 Process: The entire process, from the initial registration to final DOS transmission, can be completed electronically, eliminating paper forms and mailing delays.
• Streamlined Digital Handshake & G-28: This simplifies the attorney/representative designation process and reduces administrative burdens.

Company Groups and Legal Teams: Collaborative Management

The USCIS system utilizes two primary structures for managing users:

• Company Groups: Each company establishes at least one, ideally two, administrators who manage group membership. Members can include HR personnel, signatories, and others needing H-1B access. There are no limits on group size, but individuals can only belong to one group at a time.
• Legal Teams: Each team consists of one Attorney or Accredited Representative and may optionally include Paralegals. Legal teams can collaborate with multiple company groups.

Three Common Organizational Account Setups

• Scenario 1: A company with no legal representative has an administrator set up a group and invite members like HR personnel.
• Scenario 2: An administrator sets up a company group and invites both internal members and a legal representative, facilitating collaboration.
• Scenario 3: A legal representative initiates a company group, invites a company administrator, and then manages the group and associated filings on the company's behalf.

Rules for Effective Use of myUSCIS Accounts

• Rule 1: Plan Before You Click Companies should carefully plan their account structure before anyone logs in. This is crucial, as creating a company group is a one-way action and cannot be deleted. Convene a meeting with relevant staff and your legal representative to discuss administrator designations and login order.
• Rule 2: Compartmentalized Collaboration While companies can establish various company groups, it’s important to remember that these groups currently cannot directly collaborate. Collaboration and information sharing happen within a specific company group. There is currently no functionality to merge or delete groups.
• Rules 3-5: Working with Legal Representatives
  • Representatives must use their own dedicated legal representative accounts.
  • Form G-28, Notice of Appearance, must still be submitted with every filing, even in its digital form.
  • Legal representatives can only access forms they initiate within the system.

Notes for Legal Representatives

• Accept invitations from an Administrator or invite an Administrator to collaborate.
• Create a Legal Team by inviting paralegal(s).
• Cannot work on forms started by the company.

FY 2025 Season Essentials

• H1B Lottery Registration Period: Opens at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and closes at noon Eastern on March 22, 2024.
• Mandatory Organizational Accounts: A myUSCIS organizational account is now mandatory for participating in the H-1B lottery registration process.
• H1B Lottery New Passport Requirement: Registrants MUST provide valid passport or travel document information for each beneficiary during the registration period. This document must be the one the beneficiary intends to use to enter the U.S. if granted an H-1B visa. Each beneficiary must only be registered under one passport or travel document.
• Online Filing for Non-Cap Petitions: Starting in March 2024, USCIS expands online filing to include Form I-129 and associated Form I-907 for non-cap H-1B petitions.
• H-1B Cap Petition Online Filing: Beginning April 1, 2024.

workpermit.com helps with US Work Visa: L1, H1B, E2, and O1 Visas

There are various types of US visas that individuals can apply for, depending on their circumstances. Some of the most common employment-based visas include:

• L1 visa: This visa is for intracompany transferees who work in managerial or executive positions or have specialized knowledge.

• H1B visa: This visa is for specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields.

• E2 visa: This visa is for investors who have made a significant investment in a US business and, management or essential skills employees.  Only certain nationalities can apply.

• O1 visa: This visa is for individuals with extraordinary abilities in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics.

Workpermit.com is a specialist visa services firm with over thirty years of experience dealing with visa applications. For more information and advice, please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com(link sends e-mail)(link sends e-mail)