A reversed lottery. Massive registration pre-filing. Visas for the highest paid.

Be aware! The Department of Homeland Security’s latest regulatory agenda includes some big potential changes for H-1B visas.

And they didn’t stop with those mentioned above. There may be changes to work authorization for certain spouses. New definitions for “specialty occupation” and other key terms. Restricted access to court. And more!

• The lottery may no longer be random. And we don’t know what it means yet. It’s possible that decisions could become based on “merit” or “hierarchy,” with individuals who have the most advanced degrees or largest salaries getting first preference. And/or USCIS could put a cap on the number of H-1B visas that individual companies can apply for.
• Employers seeking H-1B cap-subject petitions may face a registration requirement. This would mean that employers might only file a full petition if they are notified that their petition was selected.
• Those with H-4 EADs (spouses of H-1B visa holders) may not be able to renew their work authorizations under a rule that has been expected for a while.
• New definitions of “employer-employee relationship,” “employment,” and “specialty occupation”
• Changes to the fee schedule.
• Mandatory electronic submission for immigration benefit requests.

Restricting employers and individuals’ access to court to present their cases against unreasonable and unlawful USCIS’ adjudications.

All of these things are potentially in flux, so stay tuned for the latest information. You can sign up for our monthly newsletter and follow Marks Gray on LinkedIn.