H-1B Electronic Registration: Official Questions and Answers — with Practitioner Notes

When the beneficiary will work in multiple locations, the registrant must select the lowest OEWS wage level that the proffered wage will equal or exceed across all locations and SOC codes. The logic: because the wage must support all locations, it is constrained by the most demanding (lowest-wage-level) location. In an agent context where one petitioner is registering for multiple employer clients, the same rule applies — use the lowest corresponding level across all proffered positions.

Select "wage level I." This situation arises when the employer determines prevailing wage through a source other than OEWS — for example, through an independent authoritative source or a survey-based determination — and the resulting prevailing wage happens to fall below what OEWS would show for Level I. Selecting Level I in this circumstance is correct; the wage level choice reflects the highest OEWS level the proffered wage equals or exceeds, and if it doesn't reach Level I by OEWS standards but is still a legitimate prevailing wage determination, Level I is the appropriate selection.

Select the OEWS wage level that the lowest end of the range equals or exceeds. This is a conservative rule — because the employer might ultimately pay the lower figure, the registration must reflect what the wage floor guarantees. At petition stage, the proffered wage must then equal or exceed the prevailing wage for the attested wage level in the applicable SOC code and area.

Use the DOL's prevailing wage guidance — specifically the DOL NPWHC Guidance (PDF) — to determine the appropriate wage level based on the position requirements. Document the methodology. This scenario most commonly arises for unusual or emerging occupations that don't have their own SOC code or where OEWS data is sparse.

No. The FY 2027 registration tool and bulk upload template were updated to incorporate the new wage level and SOC code fields required by the December 23, 2025 weighted selection final rule. Employers who used the prior-year template must use the new version, downloadable from the USCIS online account. The new template supports up to 2,500 beneficiaries per bulk upload. Advantages of bulk upload: the system flags duplicate registrations, auto-populates certain fields in the H-1B registration interface, and produces a table that can be saved as an internal record. If using bulk upload, only the USCIS-provided template will be accepted — custom spreadsheets will not work.

The beneficiary's valid, unexpired passport or travel document must be provided. The document used at registration must be the same one used to enter the United States (if the beneficiary is inside the US) or the one they intend to use for future US entry. The document must be valid (unexpired) at the time of registration. Each beneficiary may only be registered under one passport or travel document — submitting multiple registrations for the same beneficiary under different passports or documents is not permitted and will result in those registrations being flagged as duplicates.

The petitioner should enter data from the current, valid passport on Page 3, Part 3 of Form I-129. The petition must then include documentation for both passports — the one that was valid at registration and the new current one — along with an explanation of why the passport changed. This dual-documentation approach establishes that the passport was valid when the registration was submitted and explains the discrepancy. USCIS specifically addresses this scenario in its guidance to prevent it from becoming a grounds for petition rejection.

Yes, in a narrow set of circumstances. When a national government or issuing authority has extended the validity of passports by official decree or by automatic operation of law — rather than by physically issuing a new document — USCIS treats those passports as valid. Registrants should enter the expiration date based on the extended validity, not the date printed in the document. If a petition is later filed based on such a registration, the petitioner should include a copy of the facially expired passport along with documentation about the government-issued extension so USCIS can verify that the registration information was accurate. This situation most commonly arises during periods of diplomatic or administrative disruption in a foreign country, where routine passport renewals are suspended and existing documents are extended en masse.

USCIS's published Q&A does not provide a formal administrative appeal mechanism for duplicate findings. When USCIS determines that a registration is an invalid duplicate — for example, because the same beneficiary was registered under two different passport numbers by the same registrant — it marks those registrations as not properly submitted. The practical recourse is to ensure compliance on the front end: each beneficiary should be registered under only one travel document per registrant, and employers using bulk upload should run the system's duplicate-detection feature before submitting.

In cases where USCIS flags a registration as a duplicate in error — for example, because a typographical error in the passport number created a false match — the petitioner should document the discrepancy thoroughly when the petition is filed, including an explanation that demonstrates why the registrations were distinct. There is no standalone appeal of a duplicate determination; the issue is addressed in the context of the petition adjudication.

The wage level selected at registration is the baseline that the petition must honor. The proffered wage in the I-129 and LCA must equal or exceed the prevailing wage corresponding to the wage level selected on the registration for the SOC code in the area of intended employment. If the wage level on the LCA turns out to reflect a higher level than was registered, the petition should include documentation explaining the difference and demonstrating that the higher wage satisfies both the LCA and the registration requirements. If there is a downward discrepancy — the LCA wage level is lower than registered — this is a more serious problem, and the petition may be subject to denial or a request for detailed explanation.

Use the SOC code that most accurately describes the primary duties of the position — the same SOC code that will appear on the LCA. The wage level is then determined based on that primary SOC code and the area of intended employment. If the position genuinely cannot be classified under a single SOC code and requires blending two, USCIS's preferred approach is to identify the dominant duties and use the corresponding SOC code. Hybrid SOC approaches tend to generate RFEs and should be avoided where a reasonable primary classification exists.