Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY <CFR>8 CFR Part 214</CFR> <DEPDOC>[CIS No. 2820-25; DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0040]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1615-AD01</RIN> <SUBJECT>Weighted Selection Process for Registrants and Petitioners Seeking To File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Notice of proposed rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulations governing the process by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B registrations for unique beneficiaries for filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions (or H-1B petitions for any year in which the registration requirement is suspended). DHS proposes to implement a weighted selection process that would generally favor the allocation of H-1B visas to higher skilled and higher paid aliens, while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels, to better serve the Congressional intent for the H-1B program. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) must be submitted on or before October 24, 2025. Written comments on the associated information collections 1615-0144 and 1615-0009 must be submitted on or before November 24, 2025. The electronic Federal Docket Management System will accept comments before midnight Eastern time at the end of that day. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments on the entirety of this proposed rulemaking package, identified by DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0040 through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> . In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(4), the summary of this rule found above may also be found at <E T="03"> https://www.regulations.gov</E> . Follow the website instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted in a manner other than via <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including emails or letters sent to DHS or USCIS officials, will not be considered comments on the proposed rule and may not receive a response from DHS. Please note that DHS and USCIS cannot accept any comments that are hand-delivered or couriered. In addition, DHS and USCIS cannot accept comments contained on any form of digital media storage devices, such as CDs/DVDs and USB drives. USCIS is also not accepting mailed comments at this time. If you cannot submit your comment by using <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> please contact the Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, by telephone at (240) 721-3000 for alternate instructions. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Business and Foreign Workers Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (240) 721-3000 (not a toll-free call). </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Public Participation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Purpose and Summary of the Proposed Regulatory Action</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Legal Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. The H-1B Visa Program's Numerical Cap and Exemptions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Wage Requirement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Need for Reform and Rationale for Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Current Selection Process</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Discussion of Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Required Information on the Registration and the Petition</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Process for Weighting and Selecting Registrations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Process for Selecting Petitions in the Event of Suspended Registration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. H-1B Cap-Subject Petition Filing Following Registration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Process Integrity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Severability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review), and 14192 (Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BLS—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CBA—collective bargaining agreement</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR—Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CPI-U—Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS—U.S. Department of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DOD—U.S. Department of Defense</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DOL—U.S. Department of Labor</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ETA—Employment and Training Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FR—Federal Register</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">FY—Fiscal Year</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HR—human resources</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">HSA—Homeland Security Act of 2002</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">INA—Immigration and Nationality Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">LCA—Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NEPA—National Environmental Policy Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">NPRM—notice of proposed rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OES—Occupational Employment Statistics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OEWS—Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OFLC—Office of Foreign Labor Certification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OMB—Office of Management and Budget</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OPQ—Office of Performance and Quality</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">OPS—Office of Policy and Strategy</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PRA—Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PRD—Policy Research Division</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Pub. L.—Public Law</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">PWD—prevailing wage determination</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RFA—Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RIA—regulatory impact analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">RIN—Regulation Identifier Number</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SBA—U.S. Small Business Administration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SCOPS—Service Center Operations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">Secretary—Secretary of Homeland Security</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">SOC—Standard Occupational Classification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">UMRA—Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">U.S.C.—United States Code</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">USCIS—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Public Participation</HD> DHS invites all interested parties to participate in this rulemaking by submitting written data, views, comments, and arguments on all aspects of this proposed rule. DHS also invites comments that relate to the economic, environmental, or federalism effects that might result from this proposed rule. Comments must be submitted in English, or an English translation must be provided. Comments that will provide the most assistance to USCIS in implementing these changes will reference a specific portion of the proposed rule, explain the reason for any recommended change, and include data, information, or authority that support such recommended change. Comments submitted in a manner other than via <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including emails or letters sent to DHS or USCIS officials, will not be considered comments on the proposed rule and may not receive a response from DHS. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> If you submit a comment, you must include the agency name (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0040 for this rulemaking. Please note all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You may wish to consider limiting the amount of personal information that you provide in any voluntary public comment submission you make to DHS. DHS may withhold information provided in comments from public viewing that it determines may impact the privacy of an individual or is offensive. For additional information, please read the Privacy and Security Notice available at <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> . <E T="03">Docket:</E> For access to the docket and to read background documents or comments received, go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> referencing DHS Docket No. USCIS-2025-0040. You may also sign up for email alerts on the online docket to be notified when comments are posted or a final rule is published. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Purpose and Summary of the Proposed Regulatory Action</HD> DHS proposes to amend its regulations governing the selection process for registrations for H-1B cap subject petitions. Under the existing H-1B registration process, prospective petitioners (also known as registrants) seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions must first electronically register for each prospective beneficiary. USCIS then runs the H-1B selection process to randomly select unique beneficiaries based on properly submitted electronic registrations. If th ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 245k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━