The Biden administration has made significant changes to the H1B foreign workers program, aiming to provide relief to US work visa applicants. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released these new rules on October 23.
The Biden administration is claiming that the changes in the H-1B foreign workers programme will improve efficiency by streamlining eligibility, providing more flexibility to F-1 students, entrepreneurs and those working for non-profit bodies and ensuring better condition for other non immigrant workers.
What is the H-1B non-immigrant visa programme?
The H-1B non-immigrant visa programme allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations, defined by statute as occupations that require highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific speciality or its equivalent.
It is typically issued for three to six years to employers to hire a foreign worker. But H-1B holders who have begun the Green Card process can often renew their work visas indefinitely.
The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
What are the changes in the H-1B visa programme?
The amended rule would change how US government conducts the H-1B registration selection process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud.
Under the current process, the more registrations that are submitted on behalf of an individual, the higher the chances of that person being selected in a lottery.
Under the new proposal, each individual who has a registration submitted on their behalf would be entered into the selection process once, regardless of the number of registrations submitted on their behalf.
This would improve the chances that a legitimate registration would be selected by significantly reducing or eliminating the advantage of submitting multiple registrations for the same beneficiary solely to increase the chances of selection.
Furthermore, it could also give beneficiaries more choice between legitimate job offers because each registrant who submitted a registration for a selected beneficiary would have the ability to file an H-1B petition on behalf of the beneficiary.
Under the proposed rule, the criteria for speciality occupation positions would be revised to reduce confusion between the public and adjudicators and to clarify that a position may allow a range of degrees, although there must be a direct relationship between the required degree field(s) and the duties of the position.
Will Indians benefit from changes in the H-1B visa programme?
The proposals are a ‘mixed bag’ for H1-B visa seekers – an overwhelming majority of whom are Indian.
There are some features in the proposed rule that will incentivize the USCIS to issue requests for evidence and potentially deny the H-1B application.
A significant chunk of H-1B visas are held by Indians working in the tech sector, typically a majority of them are assigned to work at client-sites of their American employer. Here, the requirements of the clients will be considered in determining whether the job-position is a qualifying speciality occupation.
A position would not be considered a specialty occupation for H-1B purposes if attainment of a general degree, such as business administration or liberal arts, without further specialization, is sufficient to qualify for the position.(Bad news for Indian H-1B visa seekers having superspeciality).
Another key change is a proposed amendment in the definition of a US employer, which will make it easier for a foreign national to be sponsored for an H-1B visa by a company which they own.(Thus a good news for Indians.)
How the proposed changes are good for entrepreneurs?
The proposal also brings exciting news for entrepreneurs. It allows visa petitioners to qualify as employers even if the H-1B visa recipient holds a majority ownership stake in the business.
This change is set to encourage noncitizen entrepreneurs, granting them the opportunity to innovate and contribute to the U.S. economy.
This comprehensive approach aligns with the Biden administration’s vision, focusing on attracting global talent and simplifying the immigration process. The proposed changes signify a positive step toward fostering a more equitable, streamlined, and entrepreneur-friendly H-1B visa system.
