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The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are asking for public feedback on their plan to update the H-1B Registration Tool, used for selecting registrations for H-1B visas. People have until February 16, 2021, to submit their comments on the proposal. The USCIS published this notice to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, enabling businesses and other interested parties to express their views on the necessity, accuracy, quality, and burden of the information collected. There is no cost to participate as the registration is an online process, and the estimated time for respondents is about 0.5 hours per submission.

In this final rule, the Department of Labor revises the way it calculates prevailing wage levels for alien workers in the U.S. to ensure wages align more accurately with those of U.S. workers with similar skills. This change applies to H1-B, H1-B1, and E-3 visa programs as well as certain immigrant visa categories. The rule lowers the previous wage level estimates, transitioning over a phased implementation period, to better protect U.S. worker job opportunities by eliminating financial incentives for using lower-paid foreign labor over similarly capable American workers. The rule also provides steps to ensure a smooth transition to these new wage levels.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized a rule that changes how it selects H-1B visa petitions submitted by employers. This new rule prioritizes selecting petitions based on the highest wage level offered for the job, rather than through a random lottery system. By ranking potential H-1B workers based on their salary offers, DHS aims to ensure that visas are more likely to go to highly skilled workers filling important roles, thus supporting economic recovery and protecting U.S. workers' wages. This rule is set to take effect on March 9, 2021, and aims to better align the H-1B program with the intention of hiring more qualified and valued international employees.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has delayed the implementation of a new rule regarding the H-1B visa selection process until December 31, 2021. This rule intended to change how H-1B visa applications are selected, focusing on using wage levels for prioritization. The delay allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) additional time to update and test their systems and train their staff to ensure a smooth transition, avoiding confusion and operational disruptions. During this delay, H-1B registrations for the fiscal year 2022 will follow the existing random selection process.