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H-1B visa pre-registration window closes; premium processing for FY2020 suspended

US Citizenship and Immigration Services closed Friday [1] the newly implemented H-1B electronic registration period for all cap-subject H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2021.

Beginning this year, companies petitioning for H-1B visas must electronically register and pay a $10 fee for each candidate they wish to sponsor for H-1B status in the annual lottery. This is a new requirement that was initially announced by USCIS on Dec. 6, 2019.

USCIS expects to notify employers and their attorney representatives by March 31, 2020, of whether candidates have been selected in the lottery. Employers will be given a 90-day filing period, as indicated on the USCIS selection notice, to submit the completed H-1B cap-subject petition to USCIS for selected candidates.

USCIS also announced the temporary suspension [2] of premium processing for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions due to the coronavirus pandemic, which applies to current year applications. USCIS had already announced premium processing for fiscal year 2021 H-1B visa applications would be delayed until June 29 at the earliest. Premium processing was subject to a similar delay [3] for the 2020 visa season.

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