Two H-1B lotteries this year? Immigration expert says it's possible because...

Immigration attorney Emily Neumann said there is a possibility of lower H-1B registration this year when the H-1B cap initial registration period opens on March 4, because of the new $100,000 fee and also owing to the present situation of the job market. The window for registration will open from noon Eastern on March 4 to noon Eastern March 19. In this time period, petitioners have to register each beneficiary they want to hire for the selection process and pay the registration fee of $215. The selection results will be known by March 31.

The $100,000 fee will be applicable when the candidate is selected, if they are outside the US.

Neumann said that some companies are going ahead to register their H-1B candidates, knowing that they will have to pay $100,000. They are ready to wait and watch if those candidates get selected or not. Some companies are also hoping that the H-1B visa fee may get blocked by the court as there are two ongoing cases against the fee. If the H-1B visa fee remains, those companies may not file the final petition even after the selection of their candidates. "That means we might have a second lottery because if people are selected in the first round and then the companies don't file to fill up the cap, we can see a second lottery happening this year," Neumann explained.

Questions in the new H-1B registration form

For the first time, the selection process will not be a random lottery. It will prioritize allocating visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid workers. Neumann said she got a peek into the new registration form and it asks the beneficiary's name, date of birth, country, passport, whether filing in the master's cap or in the bachelor's cap.

While these are the general questions already present in previous forms, the new question this year will ask the petitioner about the wage level. In that section, the applicants have to select from 1, 2, 3, or 4. Another new question asks about the area of intended employment, but Neumann said there is no option given, and it's just a text box. "We don't know what they want. Do they want the city, state, county, address...they didn't say anything," the lawyer explained, adding that the new form surprisingly does not ask about the salary, the SOC code, or job title.