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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 5 / Friday, January 8, 2021 / Rules and Regulations or a related entity, on behalf of the same beneficiary, if USCIS determines that the filing of the new or amended petition is part of the petitioners attempt to unfairly decrease the proffered wage to an amount that is equivalent to a lower wage level, after listing a higher wage level on the registration or petition, if registration is suspended to increase the odds of selection. DHS is unable to quantify the cost of these changes to petitioners.
iv. Costs of Filing Form I129 Petitions DHS is amending Form I129, which must be filed by petitioners on behalf of H1B beneficiaries, to align with the regulatory changes DHS is making in
this final rule. The changes to Form I
129 will result in an increased time burden to complete and submit the form.
Absent the changes implemented through this final rule, the current estimated time burden to complete and file Form I129 is 2.84 hours per petition. As a result of the changes in this final rule, DHS estimates the total time burden to complete and file Form I129 will be 3.09 hours per petition, to account for the additional time petitioners will spend reviewing instructions, gathering the required documentation and information, completing the petition, preparing statements, attaching necessary
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documentation, and submitting the petition. DHS estimates the time burden will increase by a total of 15 minutes 0.25 hours per petition for completing a Form I129 petition.198
To estimate the additional cost of filing Form I129, DHS applies the additional estimated time burden to complete and file Form 1129 0.25
hours to the respective total population and compensation rate of who may file, including an HR specialist, in-house lawyer, or outsourced lawyer. As shown in Table 14, DHS estimates, the total additional annual opportunity cost of time to petitioners completing and filing Form I129 petitions will be approximately $3,457,401.

TABLE 14ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF TIME TO PETITIONERS FOR FILING FORM I129 PETITIONS FROM AN
INCREASE IN TIME BURDEN
Cost items
Total affected population
Additional time burden to complete Form I129
hours
Compensation rate
Total cost
A

B

C

D=ABC

Opportunity cost of time to complete Form I129 for H
1B petitions by:
HR specialist
In-house lawyer
Outsourced lawyer

21,220
27,586
57,294

0.25
0.25
0.25

$47.57
102.00
174.65

$252,359
703,443
2,501,599

Total

106,100

3,457,401

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Source: USCIS analysis.

v. Costs of Submitting Registrations as Modified by This Final Rule DHS is amending the required information on the H1B Registration Tool. In addition to the information required on the current registration tool, a registrant will be required to provide the highest OES wage level that the proffered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant SOC code in the area of intended employment, if such data is available. The proffered wage is the wage that the employer intends to pay the beneficiary. The SOC code and area of intended employment would be indicated on the LCA filed with the petition. For registrants relying on a private wage survey, if the proffered wage is less than the corresponding level I OES wage, the registrant will select the Wage Level I and below box on the registration tool. If the registration indicates that the H1B
beneficiary will work in multiple
locations, or in multiple positions if the prospective petitioner is an agent, USCIS will rank and select the registration based on the lowest corresponding OES wage level that the proffered wage equals or exceeds. In the limited instance where there is no current OES prevailing wage information for the proffered position, the registrant will follow DOL guidance on prevailing wage determinations to select the OES wage level on the registration, and USCIS will rank and select based on the highest OES wage level. The changes to this registration requirement will impose increased opportunity costs of time to registrants, by adding additional information to their registration.
The current estimated time burden to complete and file an electronic registration is 30 minutes 0.5 hours per registration.199 DHS estimates the total time burden to complete and file a
registration in light of this final rule will be 50 minutes 0.83 hours per registration, which amounts to an additional time burden of 20 minutes 0.33 hours per registration. The additional time burden accounts for the additional time a registrant will spend reviewing instructions, completing the registration, and submitting the registration.
To estimate the additional cost of submitting a registration, DHS applies the additional estimated time burden to complete and submit the registration 0.33 hours to the respective total population and total rate of compensation of who may file, including HR specialists, in-house lawyers, or outsourced lawyers. As shown in Table 15, DHS estimates the total additional annual opportunity cost of time to the prospective petitioners of completing and submitting registrations will be approximately $11,795,997.

198 0.25 hours additional time to complete and file Form I129 = 3.09 hours to complete and file
the new Form I1292.84 hours to complete and file the current Form I129 and its supplements
199 Agency Information Collection Activities;
Revision of a Currently Approved Collection: H1B
Registration Tool, 84 FR 54159 Oct. 9, 2019.

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