H1B visas are available for "specialty occupations," those that require theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge to fully perform the occupation, and which generally require the attainment of a bachelor's degree or equivalent as a minimum requirement to perform the job duties. In simple terms, the position must require a bachelor's degree in a specific field, and the individual you wish to hire must hold that degree. This has made the H1B program very popular with foreign nationals who come to the United States on student visas. Popular is an understatement. There is an annual cap of 85,000 H1Bs. The problem is demand significantly exceeds available H1Bs. In recent years, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented a registration system. Let's take a look at how the registration system works.
H1B registration deadline 2025
- Starting February 21, employers can create a myUSCIS account. Be sure to create a registrant or organization account. Your legal counsel likely has an account, but employers still need to create their own account.
- March 7–24 (noon ET) — employers
or their attorneys can register for the H1B program beginning at
noon Eastern on March 7. The registration period closes on March 24
at noon Eastern. The information needed to register includes:
- Company name
- Foreign national's full name (beneficiary)
- Foreign national's country of citizenship
- Foreign national's city and country of birth
- Foreign national's passport number
- Payment of $215 fee per registration
- Note that employers who file more than one registration for the same employee will be automatically rejected.
- USCIS intends to complete the selection process by March 31. Notifications will be made online by logging into myUSCIS.gov. If not initially selected, registrations will remain pending in the event it becomes necessary for USCIS to make additional selections — due to denials or selected registrants who fail to file applications.
- If selected, April 1 is the earliest date to file H1B petitions. The employer has 90 days to file the application. Work can commence up to six months after filing, on or after October 1.
To give you an idea, for fiscal year 2025 (last year's registration and filings), USCIS received approximately 442,000 registrations for 85,000 available spots. If you are thinking of hiring foreign nationals, especially individuals working on a student visa, you must act now, even if they have several years left to work on their student visa.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
