On September 4, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule regarding a filing fee for H-1B cap registration. As part of H-1B cap registration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposes to collect a $10 fee for each H-1B cap registration submission.

As previously reported by Mintz, DHS is moving rapidly towards its goal of implementing the H-1B registration program for the FY2021 H-1B cap, which will apply to the filing period likely to take place in March or April 2020 for petitions with an effective date of October 1, 2020.

Importantly, the proposed rule limits the notice and comment period to 30 days — abbreviated from the standard comment period, which is typically a minimum of 60 days. DHS justifies this expedited comment period by stating, “USCIS intends for the fee proposed in this rule to be in place before the H1B registration process is initially implemented, which may be as soon as the H-1B cap filing season for FY2021.”

For additional background information on the H-1B quota and the proposed H-1Bregistration system, please view our prior alert here.

It seems clear that USCIS is on a path to finalize the H-1B cap registration rule with a goal of implementing the new system in time for the FY2021 H-1B cap. Employers that sponsor cap-subject H-1B petitions should be prepared for the possibility that the registration process will be in place for the upcoming H-1B cap season.