U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made the decision to delay the implementation of the rule introducing wage-weighted priority into the H-1B lottery selection system which would have the impact of lesser new H-1B petitions being filed as employers may not be able to afford higher wages as dictated by the US Department of Labor. The USCIS announced that it will delay the effective date of the final rule titled “Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions” which was a rule published on January 8, 2021, scheduled to go into effect on March 9, 2021. The Biden administration has issued the effective date as December 31, 2021, but it will not affect the current H-1B quota registration for FY2022 which begins on March 9, 2021.
This rule to be implemented by the end of the year will replace the random lottery with a weighted selection system favoring H-1B registrations in which employers have agreed to pay the highest wage level in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) four-tiered wage system. In line with the implementation of the rule, the USCIS H-1B quota selection system will have to be significantly revised to consider the employer’s offered wage, the occupational classification, and the wage level in the DOL’s system.
US petitioners are welcoming this recent news as they initiate preparation for the new H-1B registrations for FY2022. We, at Emandi Law Firm, are closely monitoring the update and will update accordingly if any new further changes are implemented in this regard.
Related Blogs: https://emandilaw.com/uscis-announcement-of-the-h-1b-lottery-initial-registration-period/
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