The H-1B program applies to employers seeking to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. A specialty occupation is one that requires the application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the attainment of at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The intent of the H-1B provisions is to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.
Source: Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security
Dear Stakeholder,
Beginning Wednesday, February 28, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) online organizational accounts for H-1B visa petitioners and legal representatives will be available to set up. If you plan to submit an H-1B registration (a requirement for the H-1B lottery) for an H-1B cap-subject petition for FY 2025, plan ahead how to set up your organizational account and then set up your account before the H-1B registration period begins on March 6, 2024. If you want to file a non-cap or cap-exempt H-1B petition, you can begin to use your organizational account immediately after you set it up.
What organizational accounts can do for you Work as a team: Multiple people within your organization or legal team can collaborate on the same H-1B registration, Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, and associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. Each person will still need their own USCIS online account login and password to access the organizational account platform.
File online: If USCIS selects your H-1B registration, you can use the organizational account to file Forms I-129 and I-907 online starting April 1. If you want to file by mail, USCIS will be moving the H-1B filing location to a lockbox. Check the USCIS website for the filing locations starting April 1. If you file online, you can access these forms through your online account. You cannot link paper-filed Forms I-129 and I-907 to an organizational account at this time.
Collaborate with multiple legal teams: Your organization can link with more than one legal representative account. The legal representatives can be in different law firms.
What to do before the H-1B lottery season
For complete guidance, refer to USCIS’ videos on its YouTube channel and to USCIS’ webinar materials from January 23 and 24 on its Electronic Reading Room page. Here are some highlights:
- If you already have a legal representative or registrant account, USCIS will automatically upgrade it to an organizational account.
- Log in to my.uscis.gov to invite your paralegals or company personnel to create their online accounts and access your organizational account platform.
- They cannot create an online account without your invitation.
- Additionally, you can link a paralegal’s online account to only one legal representative at this time.
If you are an organization (such as a company, school, or nonprofit), decide how you want to structure your organizational account before logging in to your existing H-1B registrant account or creating a new organizational account. Decide how many Company Groups to create. These are teams that will work together via your organizational account platform. You can create multiple Company Groups but cannot merge or delete any groups once created. Company Groups cannot collaborate with each other. Each person’s account can only be in one Company Group at a time, and each person’s unique email address can be associated with only one online account. Decide who will be your account administrator(s). Administrators invite team members to the Company Group and have authority to sign, pay, and submit filings on behalf of your company. USCIS recommends having at least two administrators per Company Group. There is no limit on the number of administrators you can have. Decide who will create the Company Group—your legal representative or account administrator. If you already have a registrant account with USCIS, the account administrator should be the first one to log in to create the Company Group and then invite others to join the group. Decide who will start the forms in the system and respond to requests for evidence. Legal representatives can access only the forms they start; they cannot access forms that Company Group members start.
Why this matters
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman), which is not part of USCIS, regularly hears from stakeholders about the costly and labor-intensive H-1B process. We have long recommended an improved online experience for customers. We look forward to hearing from you about your experiences with organizational accounts, as well as USCIS offering organizational accounts to family groups in the future.
More information
For full details, go to USCIS’ Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions page. USCIS is also currently hosting several USCIS Tech Talks to answer questions about organizational accounts. For information about the H-1B lottery, go to USCIS’ H-1B Cap Season page to sign up for updates. USCIS has published a final rule, “Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity,” which will go into effect on March 4, 2024. Learn more on USCIS’ H-1B Electronic Registration Process page. The CIS Ombudsman is dedicated to assisting individuals and employers seeking to resolve problems with USCIS.
For more information on our office, please visit dhs.gov/cisombudsman or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Please complete the CIS Ombudsman Customer Satisfaction Survey. We appreciate your feedback.
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