The US Citizenship and Immigration Services, on Friday, released the much awaited figures of H-1B visa registrations for the financial year 2024. As previously announced, on March 27, 2023, USCIS had received enough electronic registrations to reach the FY 2024 H-1B cap.
As had been predicted by several immigration experts, during the registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap, USCIS saw a significant increase in the number of registrations submitted compared to prior years. A whopping 780,884 registrations were received for H-1B visas, which are capped at 85,000 annually, compared with 483,927 for FY 2023.
In its announcement on Friday, USCIS has flagged the fact that there have been a large number of eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple registrations – much larger than in previous years – raising serious concerns that some may have tried to gain an unfair advantage by working together to submit multiple registrations on behalf of the same beneficiary. “This may have unfairly increased their chances of selection. We remain committed to deterring and preventing abuse of the registration process, and to ensuring only those who follow the law are eligible to file an H-1B cap petition,” the announcement said.
The USCIS announcement goes further to remind the public that at the time each registration is submitted, each prospective petitioner is required to sign an attestation, under penalty of perjury, that all of the information contained in the registration submission is complete, true, and correct; the registration(s) reflect a legitimate job offer; and the registrant, or the organisation on whose behalf the registration(s) is being submitted, has not worked with, or agreed to work with, another registrant, petitioner, agent, or other individual or entity to submit a registration to unfairly increase chances of selection for the beneficiary or beneficiaries in this submission.
“If USCIS finds that this attestation was not true and correct, USCIS will find the registration to not be properly submitted and the prospective petitioner would not be eligible to file a petition based on that registration. USCIS may deny a petition, or revoke a petition approval, based on a registration that contained a false attestation and was therefore not properly submitted,” the announcement warns. Further, USCIS may also refer the individual or entity who submitted a false attestation to appropriate federal law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action.
Based on evidence from the FY 2023 and FY 2024 H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions accordingly, and is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution. USCIS has also announced that it is working on an upcoming H-1B modernisation rule that will propose, among other improvements, bolstering the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration system.
Immigration experts and lawyers have, in fact, been pointing out the need for an overhaul of the USCIS rule allowing multiple registrations for H-1B visas by individual applicants. “Duplicate registrations means either a group of employers filing multiple coordinated registrations for same employee or the employee approaching numerous companies to submit H-1B registration on his/her behalf,” explains says Manjunath Gokare, an immigration lawyer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He feels that the only logical explanation for the huge number of filings this year is duplicate registrations. “The practice of duplicate registrations reduces the chances of selection collectively for all. This practice disadvantages everyone,” he adds.
In a closed group of users on a social media platform, that was accessed by the Times of India, a large community of Indians have been discussing issues related to H-1B registrations for FY 2024, for the last few weeks. Many of them are IT professionals based in India and several are Indian students in the US, who are currently on the optional practical training period, but looking to switch to the H-1B work visas that will allow them to remain in the US. While many of the members of this group have been selected in the H-1B visa lottery, they have causes for worry. In fact, several questions are being raised about consulting companies, which had registered for the H-1B lottery for some of these applicants and now the applicants are not sure whether the consultancies are genuine employers or if they are fraudulent entities. Also on their minds is the worry about what their fate will be if their H-1B application comes under the scanner of the USCIS. This forum, like many others, is a platform largely to share information about consulting companies that have been filing applications for thousands of Indians who are hopeful of getting selected through the H-1B lottery.
As pointed out by the USCIS on Friday, most immigration lawyers and experts, too, feel that there are several consultancies which file multiple coordinated registrations for the same beneficiary through different companies. Many of these consultancies have multiple offices in the US and in India. “Essentially, companies collude with each other to maximise the chances of their resource getting through the lottery. Once the registration selections are announced these companies strategize which company will file the H-1B and for which resource,” says Gokare. He adds that often employees approach multiple consulting companies and these companies may file the registration unaware that some other employer may also be submitting the registration for same employee.
The H-1B electronic registration process involves prospective petitioners first registering and paying the fee for each prospective beneficiary. Under this process, prospective petitioners, and their authorized representatives, who are seeking to employ H-1B workers subject to the cap, complete a registration process that requires basic information about the prospective petitioner and each requested worker, according to USCIS.
Gokare feels that though USCIS does provide a means to check for duplicate registration, it is not clear how effective this is to prevent fraudulent practices. “It is evident that the current H-1B registration process, although well intentioned, is not working to everyone’s benefit. As such, changes are necessary for the H-1B registration process to be effective,” he says. One of the steps suggested by him is a significant increase in the registration fee; which will disincentivise the practice of duplicate registrations. “USCIS should collect a portion of eventual H-1B filing fees at the registration stage, which could then be adjusted if the case gets filed. So, if there are frivolous duplicate filings that get selected but are not filed by employers, there is a financial implication for such filers,” he adds.
Employers of several Indian students, who are in the US on OPT visas, had registered for H-1B visas for them. Thousands of them have been disappointed because they were not selected in the lottery for FY2024. Many are running out of time and will have to leave the US soon when their OPT period ends and they go out of visa status. “Duplicate registrations for the same candidate by consultancies who are gaming the H-1B lottery system is a big problem. USCIS is aware of the issue with consultancies issuing fake offer letters; individuals paying consultancies for H-1B filing and petition fees instead of the employer; and no genuine clients or projects available at the time of registering for the lottery; but turns a blind eye,” an Indian student who has completed his masters degree from an US university, but did not want to be named, told the Times of India. He is now employed with an analytics firm in Chicago; but was not lucky in the H-1B lottery, despite support from his employer.
As had been predicted by several immigration experts, during the registration period for the FY 2024 H-1B cap, USCIS saw a significant increase in the number of registrations submitted compared to prior years. A whopping 780,884 registrations were received for H-1B visas, which are capped at 85,000 annually, compared with 483,927 for FY 2023.
In its announcement on Friday, USCIS has flagged the fact that there have been a large number of eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple registrations – much larger than in previous years – raising serious concerns that some may have tried to gain an unfair advantage by working together to submit multiple registrations on behalf of the same beneficiary. “This may have unfairly increased their chances of selection. We remain committed to deterring and preventing abuse of the registration process, and to ensuring only those who follow the law are eligible to file an H-1B cap petition,” the announcement said.
The USCIS announcement goes further to remind the public that at the time each registration is submitted, each prospective petitioner is required to sign an attestation, under penalty of perjury, that all of the information contained in the registration submission is complete, true, and correct; the registration(s) reflect a legitimate job offer; and the registrant, or the organisation on whose behalf the registration(s) is being submitted, has not worked with, or agreed to work with, another registrant, petitioner, agent, or other individual or entity to submit a registration to unfairly increase chances of selection for the beneficiary or beneficiaries in this submission.
“If USCIS finds that this attestation was not true and correct, USCIS will find the registration to not be properly submitted and the prospective petitioner would not be eligible to file a petition based on that registration. USCIS may deny a petition, or revoke a petition approval, based on a registration that contained a false attestation and was therefore not properly submitted,” the announcement warns. Further, USCIS may also refer the individual or entity who submitted a false attestation to appropriate federal law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action.
Based on evidence from the FY 2023 and FY 2024 H-1B cap seasons, USCIS has already undertaken extensive fraud investigations, denied and revoked petitions accordingly, and is in the process of initiating law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecution. USCIS has also announced that it is working on an upcoming H-1B modernisation rule that will propose, among other improvements, bolstering the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration system.
Immigration experts and lawyers have, in fact, been pointing out the need for an overhaul of the USCIS rule allowing multiple registrations for H-1B visas by individual applicants. “Duplicate registrations means either a group of employers filing multiple coordinated registrations for same employee or the employee approaching numerous companies to submit H-1B registration on his/her behalf,” explains says Manjunath Gokare, an immigration lawyer based in Atlanta, Georgia. He feels that the only logical explanation for the huge number of filings this year is duplicate registrations. “The practice of duplicate registrations reduces the chances of selection collectively for all. This practice disadvantages everyone,” he adds.
In a closed group of users on a social media platform, that was accessed by the Times of India, a large community of Indians have been discussing issues related to H-1B registrations for FY 2024, for the last few weeks. Many of them are IT professionals based in India and several are Indian students in the US, who are currently on the optional practical training period, but looking to switch to the H-1B work visas that will allow them to remain in the US. While many of the members of this group have been selected in the H-1B visa lottery, they have causes for worry. In fact, several questions are being raised about consulting companies, which had registered for the H-1B lottery for some of these applicants and now the applicants are not sure whether the consultancies are genuine employers or if they are fraudulent entities. Also on their minds is the worry about what their fate will be if their H-1B application comes under the scanner of the USCIS. This forum, like many others, is a platform largely to share information about consulting companies that have been filing applications for thousands of Indians who are hopeful of getting selected through the H-1B lottery.
As pointed out by the USCIS on Friday, most immigration lawyers and experts, too, feel that there are several consultancies which file multiple coordinated registrations for the same beneficiary through different companies. Many of these consultancies have multiple offices in the US and in India. “Essentially, companies collude with each other to maximise the chances of their resource getting through the lottery. Once the registration selections are announced these companies strategize which company will file the H-1B and for which resource,” says Gokare. He adds that often employees approach multiple consulting companies and these companies may file the registration unaware that some other employer may also be submitting the registration for same employee.
The H-1B electronic registration process involves prospective petitioners first registering and paying the fee for each prospective beneficiary. Under this process, prospective petitioners, and their authorized representatives, who are seeking to employ H-1B workers subject to the cap, complete a registration process that requires basic information about the prospective petitioner and each requested worker, according to USCIS.
Gokare feels that though USCIS does provide a means to check for duplicate registration, it is not clear how effective this is to prevent fraudulent practices. “It is evident that the current H-1B registration process, although well intentioned, is not working to everyone’s benefit. As such, changes are necessary for the H-1B registration process to be effective,” he says. One of the steps suggested by him is a significant increase in the registration fee; which will disincentivise the practice of duplicate registrations. “USCIS should collect a portion of eventual H-1B filing fees at the registration stage, which could then be adjusted if the case gets filed. So, if there are frivolous duplicate filings that get selected but are not filed by employers, there is a financial implication for such filers,” he adds.
Employers of several Indian students, who are in the US on OPT visas, had registered for H-1B visas for them. Thousands of them have been disappointed because they were not selected in the lottery for FY2024. Many are running out of time and will have to leave the US soon when their OPT period ends and they go out of visa status. “Duplicate registrations for the same candidate by consultancies who are gaming the H-1B lottery system is a big problem. USCIS is aware of the issue with consultancies issuing fake offer letters; individuals paying consultancies for H-1B filing and petition fees instead of the employer; and no genuine clients or projects available at the time of registering for the lottery; but turns a blind eye,” an Indian student who has completed his masters degree from an US university, but did not want to be named, told the Times of India. He is now employed with an analytics firm in Chicago; but was not lucky in the H-1B lottery, despite support from his employer.