Initial registration for cap-subject H-1B visas will open at noon (Eastern) on March 1, 2023 and run through noon (Eastern) on March 17, 2023.  Registrations must be submitted by employers, agents, or representatives via a myUSCIS online account. New accounts may be created on USCIS’ electronic system beginning February 21, 2023.

Though it can be logistically challenging, initial registration is a non-selective process, requiring a fee of $10.00 per beneficiary.  In the highly unlikely event that USCIS does not receive enough registrations by March 17, all those properly submitted will be selected.  If, as usual, the agency receives more registrations than visas available, it will conduct random selection, the famous “H-1B lottery.”  This process includes selection of 65,000 beneficiaries with a bachelors or higher degree, and a second selection for the 20,000 visas set aside each year for beneficiaries with advanced degrees.    

The agency intends to notify all account holders of their case status by March 31 through their myUSCIS accounts.

Meantime, the H-1B and L-1 visas were front and center in class action lawsuit settlement. It requires USCIS to concurrently adjudicate H-4 and L-2 applications for change/extension of status (Form I-539) and employment authorization (Form I-765)  at the same time as H-1B or L-1 principal petitions (Form I-129), when dependents’ forms are filed concurrently with  principals’.  This reverses a previous practice of decoupling the two, which subjected H-4 and L-2 dependents to lengthy wait times.  The agreement, which took effect January 25, will remain in force for two years following the effective date.