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March 2, 2022 Article

FY2023 H-1B Season – Key Facts for Employers

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the H-1B initial registration period for the FY 2023 cap is scheduled to open at noon ET on March 1, 2022 and will remain open until noon ET on March 18, 2022. During the H-1B Visa Cap Registration Period, prospective employers (petitioners) who are seeking to employ H-1B workers subject to the cap and their legal representatives must complete an electronic registration process on the USCIS website in order to enter the H-1B lottery and have the chance to file an H-1B visa petition on behalf of the foreign worker beneficiary.

Registration Process

To file H-1B petitions subject to the FY2023 cap for an employee, you must first electronically register and pay a $10 fee for each electronic registration. The electronic registration includes basic information about the employer and employee. This year, registrations must be submitted between March 1 and March 18, 2022.

This fee is in addition to the filing fees you will have to pay later with the petition if the employee is selected in the cap lottery. 

Note that employers are prohibited from submitting more than one registration for the same prospective H-1B employee. If an employer or its attorney submits more than one registration for the same H-1B candidate in a fiscal year, all registrations for that candidate will be invalid.

The Lottery and Filing Petitions

After the registration period, USCIS will randomly select registrations from the ones it has received and will electronically notify you or your attorney if your employee has been selected. This will happen no later than March 31, 2022. If your employee’s registration is selected, then you will have at least 90 days to file a fully prepared H-1B cap-subject petition for the employee beginning on April 1. If your employee’s registration is not selected, they will be put on a waitlist and more registrations may be randomly selected during the fiscal year.

What Should I Do Now?

Schedule a meeting with our office before the registration period to discuss prospective H-1B petitions and whether the job and the individual would qualify for an H-1B. You should also discuss the timing to file your H-1B petition with us. To do this, you should: 

  • Contact our office: Preti Flaherty, Mariana Baron, Esq., 207.791.3260, [email protected]
  • Gather all relevant information about the job and the prospective employee's qualifications.
  • Starting at noon Eastern Time on February 22, set up an employer account on myUSCIS as an "H-1B registrant." 
  • Call our office with any questions.

Important Registration Dates

  • February 22: Employers may begin creating myUSCIS H-1B registration accounts
  • March 1: Registration period opens at noon Eastern Time
  • March 18: Registration period closes at noon Eastern Time
  • By March 31: USCIS conducts the lottery and electronically notifies selected registrants
  • April 1: Filing period begins for selected cases ONLY