TRUMP ADMN SHIFTS H-1B SELECTION TO FAVOUR MERIT

WASHINGTON:A proposed new rule for issuing H-1B visas in the United States is likely to favour foreign students at US institutions of higher studies and require companies to register in advance.

The proposed change in the selection process is expected to result in an estimated increase of up to 16% (or 5,340 workers) in the number of people selected with a Master’s degree or higher from a US institution of higher education, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which runs the H-1B programme.

The new rule will be published in Federal Register for public comments on Monday, according to an announcement by the US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, on Friday. The comment period will last 30 days, and immigration experts say it takes typically one year for a new rule such as this to come into effect. There is currently an annual cap of 65,000 visas under the programme for highly skilled workers recruited abroad and an additional 20,000 for foreign students enrolled in higher studies in the US.

As the largest recipients of temporary non-immigrant work visas under the H-1B programme, which is more than 70% of the annual quota, Indian outsourcing companies and Indian professionals hoping to work for US companies will be following this process closely. Under the proposed new rule, companies that plan to hire foreign workers on H-1B will have be required to first “electronically register with USCIS — the agency that runs the H-1B programme) during a designated registration period”.