Immigration lawyers, tech-industry trade groups and universities asked the acting head of U.S. Customs and Immigration whether the planned new registration system for H-1B visa applications would be imposed next year, but failed to get a firm answer.
In a letter to acting agency director Ken Cuccinelli, the American Immigration Lawyers Association and other groups including a trade organization representing Google, Facebook, Amazon, Intel, IBM and Salesforce, and another representing tech giants and IT staffing and outsourcing companies, asked whether the system would be in place for the 2020 H-1B application season. “Transitioning to a new electronic system has the potential for technical glitches and operational disruptions,” they wrote.
The groups urged the agency “to engage in extensive beta testing of the system, with maximum participation and feedback from a wide range of interested stakeholders.”
The new process will require applicants — employers seeking visas for workers — to file a preliminary registration with U.S. Customs and Immigration Services before becoming eligible to apply for the visa. Only the registrations selected by the agency are to proceed to the application process. Last month, federal authorities said they plan to add a $10 fee for registration, after finalizing a rule that didn’t include the fee.
Cuccinelli responded this week to the groups, saying his agency intended to have the system in place for next year’s H-1B application season “subject to continued testing of the system.” Citizenship and Immigration has conducted two rounds of testing, he added.
Immigration law firm Berry Appleman & Leiden said in an advisory that employers should expect the registration system to be implemented by next year’s application season, noting that companies will have to submit their online registrations before April 1 “during a registration period that will likely take place between January and March.”
