Petitions closed solely due to start date after Oct. 1, 2020 may be resubmitted before Oct. 1, 2021
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will allow resubmission of certain FY 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions rejected or closed solely because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020.
Such previously filed petitions based on a registration submitted during the initial registration period must be resubmitted, with all applicable fees, before Oct. 1, 2021, the immigration agency announced Wednesday.
The previously filed petitions may be submitted at:
USCIS TSC
Attn: H-1B CAP Filings FY21
6046 N Belt Line Rd. STE 107
Irving, TX 75038-0010
“If properly resubmitted, we will consider the petition to have been filed on the original receipt date,” USCIS said.
Read: USCIS to review rejected H-1B petitions with late start date (May 4, 2021)
When resubmitting the petition, the applicants must include their FY 2021 H-1B cap registration selection notice. Those who received a rejection or administrative closure notice for the original FY 2021 H-1B cap petition, should include that as well.
USCIS also encouraged the use of a brightly colored coversheet indicating that the petitioner is refiling an FY 2021 H-1B cap case that was originally rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020
This will help ensure that it is reviewed upon receipt, the USCIS said.
Giving background of the issue, USCIS noted that in 2020 it implemented an electronic registration process for the H-1B cap.
Read: USCIS may reopen H-1B petitions denied during Trump administration (March 13, 2021)
Prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the $10 H-1B registration fee for each beneficiary.
The electronic registration process has streamlined processing by reducing paperwork and data exchange and provided overall cost savings to employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, USCIS said.
For FY 2021, the number of petitions filed during the initial filing period was below the number projected as needed to reach the numerical allocations.
USCIS said this discrepancy was likely related to multiple factors, including the economic, political, and public health uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the fact that FY 2021 was the first year that it implemented the electronic registration process.
“Therefore, in August 2020, we selected additional registrations that were held in reserve. The filing period for registrations selected in August ended on Nov. 16, 2020,” it said.
Read: USCIS Will Allow Resubmission of Certain FY 2021 H-1B Petitions Rejected or Closed Due to Start Date (June 23, 2021)
Some petitioners indicated a start date after Oct. 1, 2020. USCIS rejected or administratively closed those petitions because they were based on registrations submitted during the initial registration period but indicated a start date after Oct. 1, 2020.
“Upon reconsideration, we no longer believe that the regulations required us to reject or administratively close those petitions,” USCIS said.