H-1B visa online filing for FY25 to start in February; US announces new measures to ease process

In a recent announcement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has disclosed that the online filing period for H-1B applications for the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) is set to commence in February. Alongside this, the USCIS will introduce organisational accounts, facilitating collaborative online submissions for H-1B registrations.

The organisational accounts, slated for launch during the FY25 H-1B cap season, will empower multiple individuals within an organisation, including company representatives and legal advisors, to work together on the preparation of H-1B registrations, Form I-129 (Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker), and the associated Form I-907 (Request for Premium Processing Service), as confirmed by the USCIS.

Details regarding the availability of organisational accounts and specific H-1B registration dates are expected to be officially announced by the USCIS at the end of January.

Petitions for the H-1B visa can be submitted through three avenues: online by the petitioner through their organisational account, online by the petitioner's legal representative, or as a traditional paper-based petition.

To guide organisations and legal representatives through this process, the USCIS will conduct two national engagement sessions on organisational accounts scheduled for January 23 and January 24, alongside additional smaller sessions leading up to the H-1B registration period.

This development follows the Biden administration's reforms to enhance the efficiency of the H-1B system while maintaining the mandated annual cap of 60,000 visas. The proposed changes aim to streamline eligibility criteria and provide increased flexibility to F-1 students, entrepreneurs, and those associated with nonprofit organisations. To bolster the program's integrity measures, the proposed rule also prohibits related entities from submitting multiple registrations for the same beneficiary, addressing concerns related to misuse and fraud.