Amid scrutiny, H-1B filings begin
The process of filing petitions for H-1B, considered as the most sought-after work visa among highly skilled Indian professionals, begins on Monday amid unprecedented scrutiny by the Trump Administration.
A strong indication is coming from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency which is responsible to process all H-1B visas, that there will be zero tolerance by it for even minor errors.
Chatter at various social media platforms and groups indicate that immigration attorneys this time expect a much high rate of rejection.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master’s degree or higher are exempt from the cap.
Days ahead of the start of the H-1B visa application process for the fiscal year 2019, beginning October 1 this year; USCIS warned that all duplicate applications would be subject to rejection. In previous years filing of duplicate petitions, by companies, so that applicants could have greater chance in getting through the lottery had become a normal practice.
USCIS has also said that it will reject H-1B petitions requesting an earlier employment start date or a start date of “As Soon As Possible” or “ASAP.”
Expecting a huge rush of application beginning Monday and greater scrutiny of all petitions, which would require much more man hours, USCIS has also temporarily suspended premium processing.
“We will announce the start date for premium processing in the near future,” USCIS said.
As of now, USCIS has not indicated if it plans to go for a computerised draw of lots as has been the case in previous years.
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