Home Tags H1B visa

Tag: H1B visa

US to Suspend H-1B Visa Premium Payment Program Temporarily from April

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that in order to clear a backlog of regular H-1B visa applications, it is suspending for six months a programme that allowed some companies to jump to the head of the queue for quicker Premium processing of H-1B visas by paying a special fee.

This is not a suspension of the H-1B visas, but only of the “Premium Processing”, which allows companies to pay $1,125 to go to the top of the line ahead of those waiting for applications to be processed, the USCIS said on Friday.

Also Read:New H1B legislation: All You Need to Know About the New Law

“This temporary suspension will help us to reduce overall H-1B processing times”, it added. H-1B visas are temporary work visas for people with special qualifications, and it is used mostly by Indian techies. The “Premium Programme” suspension is to come into effect from April 3.

Under Premium Processing, a decision is made on H-1B application within 15 days, while the regular applications take more than three months - period that has lengthened because of the surge in special Processing applications.

Source : IANS

New H1B legislation: All You Need to Know About the New Law

Two powerful Senators of the US have announced about introducing new H1B legislation. This move will tighten the noose around the H1B visa programme if passed by the Congress. Also, this new legislation may upset Indian IT firms.

The bill is to be introduced by Dick Durban, and Senator Chuck Grassley requires US Citizenship and Immigration Services to prioritize for allocating H1B visas the first time. This will promise preference of an H1B visa for the “best and brightest” students being educated in the US. Also, this will leg up to advanced degree holders with valuable skills, and those being paid a high wage.

Top 10 Highest Paid Jobs in India in 2017

Grassley claims the Congress introduced these programmes to encourage high-skilled workforce in America, but not to replace it. Despite the fact that few companies are making the most of the programmes by trying to cut American workers for cheaper labor.

 “We need programmes dedicated to putting American workers first. When skilled foreign workers are needed to meet the demands of our labor market, we must also ensure that visa applicants who honed their skills at American colleges and universities are a priority over the importation of more foreign workers,” Says, Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Adding to that, he also said that the bill takes these steps to make sure that the programmes work better. However, it essentially works for Americans and skilled foreign workers alike. The new legislation restores Congress’ original objective in the H1B and L1 visa programmes. This includes modifying wage requirements, increasing enforcement and securing protections for both visa holders and American workers.

Nikki Haley makes history as First Indian American to get Cabinet Level Position

“Reforming the H1B and L-1 visa programmes is a critical component of fixing our broken immigration system and must be included in comprehensive immigration reform legislation,” Durbin said.

The bill would crack down on outsourcing companies which allow large numbers of H1B and L-1 workers. However, it only permits for temporary training purposes only, and the workers will be sent back to their home countries to do the same job. In particular, it prohibits companies of over 50 employees from hiring additional H1B employees.

Casino Utan Svensk Licens med trustly / bankID 2021