FY22 H-1B Electronic Registration Process

The FY22 H-1B cap is the second year that USCIS has implemented an electronic registration process. The registration process timeline is as follows:

• March 2: Petitioners and registrants can begin creating H-1B registrant accounts at noon Eastern.
• March 9: H-1B registration period opens at noon Eastern.
• March 25: H-1B registration period closes at noon Eastern.
• March 31: Date by which USCIS intends to notify selected registrants.
• April 1: The earliest date that FY 2022 H-1B cap-subject petitions may be filed.

A registrant’s USCIS online account will show one of the following statuses for each registration:

• Submitted: The registration has been submitted and is eligible for selection. If the initial selection process has been completed, this registration remains eligible, unless subsequently invalidated, for selection in any subsequent selections for the fiscal year for which it was submitted.
• Selected: Selected to file an H-1B cap petition.
• Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.
• Denied: Multiple registrations were submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for the same beneficiary. If denied as a duplicate registration, all registrations submitted by or on behalf of the same registrant for this beneficiary for the fiscal year are invalid.
• Invalidated-Failed Payment: A registration was submitted but the payment method was declined, not reconciled, or otherwise invalid.

H-1B cap-subject beneficiaries, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must have a valid “Selected” registration notification for that specific fiscal year in order for a registrant or representative to properly file an H-1B cap-subject petition. The status of registrations that are not selected as part of any initial random selection process, and not denied or invalidated, will remain as “Submitted.” Registrants and representatives that are not selected will not be notified until after USCIS has determined that they have reached the H-1B cap for that fiscal year.