US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just announced a proposed rule that could save US businesses more than $23 million over the next 10 years, which could mean the quota of these visas will be filled far quicker than last year.

The USCIS plans to establish an advance registration process for US employers intending to file H-1B petitions for foreign workers in specialty occupations. The electronic system would reduce the paperwork and expenses related to the H-1B petition process, including reducing the need for employers to submit petitions for which visas would not be available under the statutory visa cap.

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas launched a 60-day comment period at the start of this month which will allow businesses and the general public to provide input on the proposed system to make sure it meets the needs of employers who rely on H-1B visas to bring in foreign workers for specialty occupations.

"The proposed rule would create a more efficient and cost-effective process for businesses interested in bringing workers in specialty occupations to the United States," Mayorkas commented. "Improving the H-1B petition process is part of USCIS's ongoing efforts to leverage new ideas and innovation to streamline our operations and enhance customer service."

Last year saw H-1B visas available for most of the financial year (2010-11). However this has not always been the case, with the H-1B cap of 65,000 visas (plus 20,000 specialist visas) regularly reached within days of the annual launch date on 1 April in recent years. The slow down in taking up the visas was probably due to high unemployment meaning more US workers were available to fill positions, and fewer job opportunities.

Under the proposed rule, employers applying for H-1B workers subject to the statutory cap would register electronically with USCIS (which should take just 30 minutes to complete). Prior to 1 April USCIS would select the number of registrations predicted to exhaust all available visas. Employers would then file petitions only for the selected registrations. The registration system would save employers the effort and expense of filing H-1B petitions for workers who would be unable to obtain visas under the statutory cap.

The proposed rule contains complete details about the registration system and estimated cost savings. USCIS encourages formal comments on the proposed rule through www.regulations.gov. The comment period runs until 2 May.

As the US economy is creating more job opportunities, and with cheaper visas available for specialist overseas workers on the horizon, US employers may once again need to apply soon after 1 April to increase their chances of securing H-1B visas. For more information on the proposed H-1B rule, please click here.