The H-1B visa provides temporary employment authorization for foreign nationals in "specialty occupations" - generally, degreed professionals. The number of petitions for H visas filed during the fiscal year often exceeds the number of visas available. For this reason, some petitions are rejected by USCIS after the employer has spent considerable time and money preparing the petition and supporting documentation.

The US government agency responsible for immigration, US Citizenship and Immigration Services, has just announced a proposed rule that would establish a new electronic registration system for H-1B  visa petitions. This new proposed registration system would determine which employers will be permitted to file H petitions before the petitions are actually filed with the government. See USCIS Announcement for more details.

Comments can be submitted on the proposed rule through May 2, 2011. We anticipate that many concerns will be raised about this proposed system.  Issues raised during the comment period might include the burden on employers caused by this additional government registration, the fairness of the system, and the likelihood of computer problems associated with this electronic registration system.