On October 28th, 2020, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the transmission to the Federal Register of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend regulations governing the process by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services selects H-1B registrations for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended).  

If finalized as proposed, USCIS would first select registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics prevailing wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code and area(s) of intended employment. Replacing the random selection process in this manner is expected to help counter the downward pressure on the wages of U.S. workers that is created by an annual influx of relatively lower-paid, new cap-subject H-1B workers. 

Prioritization and selection based on wage levels impacts severely on small businesses as more than 80% of H petitions were sponsored by small businesses in 2021 fiscal year. Small businesses are less likely to be able to afford higher level wage. As a result, more than 80% of H beneficiaries will be impacted.

DHS will open a public comment period once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register. Interested parties will have 30 days to submit comments relevant to the proposed rule and 60 days to submit comments relevant to the proposed information collection. We will send out notice once the comment period is open. Please send your feedbacks of this proposal.

To Read More, Please Click Here . . .

https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/dhs-trump-administration-protect-american-jobs-from-unfair-international-competition

Attorney Jing Feng is a decorated immigration lawyer who has been working in immigration for years. She has notable experience in this domain, and has successfully gained U.S. residency for thousands of her clients. For more consultation on I-485 preparation, please contact Jing Feng Law Group, PLLC at jfeng@fengvisa.com or 646-288-7129. We look forward to hearing from you!