Expert Insights on H-1B Cap Season Best Practices

1. FY 2025 H-1B Cap Season: Best Practices for Getting Started Presented By Jennifer Yeaw, Attorney Corporate Immigration Partners

2. About the Presenters • Jen has been practicing exclusively in the business immigration space full-time for almost 8 years. • She has counseled a range of clients from Fortune 100 companies in technology to medium and small clients in a variety of industries from healthcare to retail. • Jen is based in North Carolina and resides with her family who share their home with a rescue retired racing greyhound named Penny. Penny is the boss. Jennifer Yeaw Attorney Corporate Immigration Partners https://corporateimmigrationpartners.com/ 2

3. Q & A Reserved time at the end for questions. Feel free to put your questions into the chat as well.

4. Content in this publication is for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. For additional information on the issues discussed, consult an attorney at one of the two U.S. Law Firms working with the Envoy Platform or another qualified professional. On non- U.S. immigration issues, consult an Envoy global immigration service provider or another qualified representative.

5. FY 2025 H-1B Cap Season: Best Practices for Getting Started

6. Know Who Qualifies for the H1B Lottery & review the lottery process

7. The H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa – Specialty Occupations Who’s Eligible Examples of specialty occupations include: • • • Candidates who possess at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) hired to work in a “specialty occupation.” Accountant Chemist Engineer, such as • Electrical • Industrial • Mechanical Software Developer Mathematician Physician Lawyer Requirements • “Specialty occupation”: occupation that requires at least a Bachelor’s degree in specific fields of study for proper performance. Job duties must be fully descriptive such that a person unfamiliar can understand the role and its complexity. The fields of study must be sufficiently narrow and related to the role and the candidate must have the degree (or its equivalent). Offered salary must meet greater of prevailing wage or actual wage. • • • • • • • 7

8. Consider all possible foreign national employees: • F-1 Students on CPT, OPT or STEM • Employees work abroad • Employees on dependent work authorization such as L-2, H-4, J-2 • Employees in L-1 status who may not be able to adjust to permanent resident during the maximum years allowable for there current nonimmigrant visa status • TN Canadian or Mexican citizens • O-1 who may not have a strong enough case for EB-1 8

9. By The Numbers: H-1B Cap Breakdown Each year, 85,000 new H-1B cap openings are available 9

10. Top Reasons to Apply for H-1B • Green card pathway ("dual intent") • Stability (extensions beyond 6 years) • H-4 EAD for qualifying spouses 10

11. What can I do now to prepare?

13. Next Steps 1. Gather the list of foreign nationals that your company will sponsor for the H-1B cap. Maintain this list as new hires that require sponsorship join. 2. Communicate with your immigration counsel to understand details on this year's timeline, sponsorship preparation, registration and submission. 3. Communicate with your employees so they understand they will be sponsored and when the process will start. 13

14. Document Checklist

15. Dependent Document Checklist

16. Electronic Registration Required Information: Employer information: Employer’s name, mailing address, identification number (EIN), Employer’s authorized representative’s name, job title, and contact information Beneficiary’s general information: Beneficiary’s full name, country of birth, date of birth, country of citizenship, gender, and passport number Beneficiary’s U.S. educational information: Whether the beneficiary has obtained a master’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution Immigration attorney information: The employer’s attorney or accredited representative Additional: Any additional basic information requested by the registration system or USCIS 16

17. Electronic Registration Process Preparation prior to registration Assess H-1B eligibility, prepare for electronic registration, and, if desired, petition preparation March Electronic registration with USCIS, $10 fee for each employee beneficiary Registration Dates USCIS will conduct the lottery and randomly select 85,000+ registrations Lottery Selection USCIS will notify of selection By April 1** 90-day period post-selection** For receipt starting April 1, employers submit full H-1B petitions 17 **2024 dates TBD

18. What happens if my employee is selected?

19. YOU’RE SELECTED – WHAT’S NEXT?  

20. Preparing the Petition Employee Employer information/documents: information/documents: Biographic information Immigration history Passport/visa I-94 record Diploma/transcripts Current/prior approval notices Employer contact/signatory Employer legal name/EIN Job details: title, duties, requirements Job location(s) Salary Company information material 20

21. Requests for Evidence Defined Requests for Evidence (RFEs) are notices sent by USCIS requiring further information and/or documentation to approve the petition. Employers must send the requested information to USCIS by the due date for their petition to be approved. Failure to respond by the deadline will result in a denial. 21

22. F-1 Students – “Cap Gap Protection” “What if I have an OPT EAD card?” “What if it expires before October 1, 2023?” “Can I continue working?” For H-1B Lottery Cases that are SELECTED: July 15 October 1 Cap Gap Ends April OPT EAD Expires H-1B Petition Filed IMPORTANT: Contact your school visa advisor (DSO) for cap-gap I-20. You will be removed from Payroll if you cannot re-verify your I-9 after your EAD expires. 22

23. What happens if my employee is NOT selected?

25. Looking Back At FY 2024 • 780,884 registrations for the FY 2024 quota. • USCIS selected 188,400 of these registrations— about 24% —to meet the quota. • 2 Selections in FY24, which was different than the 1 selection in FY23

26. Looking Ahead To FY 2025 • Electronic registration dates to be determined (expected between approximately March 1-March 20). • Continued relatively low rates of Requests for Evidence. • Consulting and third-party placement employers: continued stability in adjudication. • Expect only one lottery selection. • Economic worries could decrease the number of registrations, thereby increasing the chances of success.

27. Proposed “Modernization” in FY 2025 • Lottery selections based on beneficiary’s identity, not on each unique registration. • Chances of an individual being selected would not increase by having multiple employers submit registrations. • Removes incentive for H-1B aspirants to seek registrations from multiple employers. Related employers (e.g., parent, subsidiary, etc.) prohibited from filing registrations for same beneficiary unless each can show legitimate business need. Proposed extension of “cap gap” through March 31, 2025 -- TBD Codify USCIS ability to revoke petitions if registration contained false information. • • •

28. Resources

29. For additional H-1B resources and policy updates, visit: The H-1B Visa Program | Envoy Global 29

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32. Audience Q&A