Is H1B visa considered a 'temporary resident' visa?
An H1B is a temporary residentalien visa. The visa is set to expire on a certain date - usually 3 years after the date it was issued.
Is H1B visa bad for the USA?
Unfortunately, the H-1B visa is not without its downsides. Work with your immigration attorney to weigh the pros and the cons of this visa class in order to determine if it is the right choice for you. Lottery. The first and greatest drawback of the H-1B visa is the fact that there is an annual limit on how many petitions are approved each year. While other visas also have a limit, they are not as easy to obtain and so that limit is rarely reached.
How much time does it take to transfer a H-1B visa?
The processing time of a H1B visa transfer takes 1 to 4 months to process under a regular procedure and 15 to 30 days for premium processing. The answer from USCIS might be positive or negative. However, if the applicant wants the processing to go faster, they will have to pay the H1B transfer premium processing.
Will citizenship get easier for H1B visa holders?
For H1B visa holders, US citizenship may become easier to obtain in the near future according to President Trump’s twitter post. H1-B holders in the United States can rest assured that changes are soon coming which will bring both simplicity and certainty to your stay, including a potential path to citizenship.
What to Do After Filing H-1B Petition?
If your registration is selected in the lottery, then your employer will need to file a petition, which will move on to the adjudication stage, meaning that it will be processed. An evaluating immigration officer will decide if your H-1B case is approved or denied/rejected. If it is approved, then you will have one of two options:
How long can I stay in the US on an I-140?
This visa is granted for up to three years with the option to extend it to a maximum of six years. There are select cases in which you may be granted a stay longer than six years. This is usually in conjunction with a pending I-140 petition so that you can maintain your status.
When does USCIS registration open for 2021?
At 12 p.m. EST on March 9. 2021, registration opens, and USCIS account holders can submit their registrations along with the non-refundable $10 registration fee.
When will the USCIS open for 2021?
The registration window will open on March 9, 2021, and end on March 25, 2021. Petitions will still be used, but only once a beneficiary has been selected in the lottery to make things more efficient.
When was the H-1B visa reform act passed?
The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 was a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, which President George W. Bush signed on December 6, 2004. For employers with 26 or more employees, the required retraining fee was increased from $1,000 to $1,500, and it was reduced to $750 for all other employers.
What was the first immigration law?
Truman. For the first time, the Immigration and Nationality Act codified United States' immigration, naturalization, and nationality law into permanent statutes, and it introduced a system of selective immigration by giving special preference to foreigners possessing skills that are urgently needed by the country. Several different types of visas were established, including a H-1 visa for "an alien having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is of distinguished merit and ability and who is coming temporarily to the United States to perform temporary services of an exceptional nature requiring such merit and ability." The term "distinguished merit and ability" was not new to United States immigration law; it had previously been used as a qualification for musicians and artists who had wanted to enter the United States. The visa was called an H-1 visa because it had been made into law by section 101 (15) (H) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Does H-1B status reduce time spent as a dependent?
The memorandum stated that time spent as either an H-4 dependent or an L-2 dependent does not reduce the maximum allowable period of stay available to individuals in H-1B status.
Does the H visa apply to Guam?
territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and it stipulated that, during a transition period, numerical limitations would not apply to otherwise qualified workers in the H visa category in the U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The exemption does not apply to any employment to be performed outside of Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Why are companies cheated out of visas?
Companies that may be seeking visas for employees on a more legitimate basis are also cheated out of them because of the lottery system. Large outsourcing firms are able to flood the system with applications every year. For the fiscal year of 2016, the top 10 employers that received visas accounted for 41% of the total granted, according to the Department of Labor. More than 70% of H-1B petitions approved for the fiscal year 2019 were for candidates from India, and the majority of the petitions were for computer-related occupations, according to USCIS data .
What is the purpose of the Immigration Innovation Act?
The Immigration Innovation Act of 2018 introduced in the House in September proposes using fees collected for H-1B visas to promote domestic STEM education and worker training , including financial aid and research initiatives, besides giving H-1B visa holders more flexibility.
Is the USCIS a done deal?
The USCIS, an agency of the DHS that administers the immigration system, also made it so that extension applications aren 't a done deal and officers have to apply the same level of scrutiny to extension applications as they do to new visa applications.
What is an H1B visa?
The H1B is a special visa that allows foreign nationals to perform specialty occupations in the United States. This work can be in - but is not limited to - any of the following fields:
What is H1B in the US?
The H1B allows foreign nationals to perform specialty occupations in the United States. This allows highly qualified individuals to work and live in the US. This benefits both the beneficiaries and the US economy.
How long can a beneficiary stay in the US?
If there is a change in worksite, a new labor condition application must also be submitted. If the job ends unexpectedly, the beneficiary may stay for up to 60 days or until the visa expires, whichever is shorter. During this time, the beneficiary may attempt to find a new employer to remain in the US but may not work. It is important to note if there are any changes to a beneficiary’s job position or to the US company. Here, an immigration lawyer can help you determine what steps are required to be in compliance with the H1B visa program.
What is employer control in USCIS?
Control is the ability of the petitioner to determine when, where, and how the beneficiary completes his/her duties. USCIS will deny a petition if the beneficiary will not be an employee or report to the petitioner.
How long do you have to work to get an H1B visa?
Begin work in the United States. H-1B beneficiaries may arrive in the United States up to 10 days before the start date of their petition and stay up to 60 days (with some exceptions) after the termination of their H1B status. Upon arrival, you should present your passport, H1B visa, and Form I-797 approval.
What are the benefits of H1B?
One big advantage of H1B visa is the portability benefits. This means that if you are on an H1B and change employers, you can begin working for a different employer upon filing your new petition.
How long before I can apply for a visa can I apply for a visa?
Note that you cannot apply for a visa more than 90 days before the start date of the job . Upon scheduling a consular interview, the foreign national will meet with a US consular officer and show them their I-797 approval.
What happens if you don't submit a copy of your visa?
If you do not submit a copy, this may delay processing for this petition or for the visa abroad.
When is the start date for USCIS 2021?
If your selected registration was submitted during the initial registration period of March 9 to March 25, you must indicate a start date of Oct. 1, 2021, on your petition or your petition will be rejected or denied.
Is it your responsibility to ensure that Form I-129 is completed accurately and submitted properly?
Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that Form I-129 is completed accurately and submitted properly.
Can I include my passport number on my I-129?
While not required information if the beneficiary is outside the United States, you may include the beneficiary’s passport number on Form I-129. The passport number, when available and included on Form I-129, may help USCIS to confirm that the beneficiary named in the registration notice is the same individual as the beneficiary named in the petition and avoid processing delays.
Background
The “H” visa for temporary workers has existed in U.S. immigration law since 1952. In 1986, the H-1B category was created for professional nonimmigrant workers.
Sham Worker Shortage
Industry lobbyists with Microsoft’s Bill Gates at the forefront have tried to convince Congress that there is a shortage of specialty occupation workers and American competitiveness will suffer if they are not able to hire more foreign workers.
Displacing American Workers
Nothing in the law regulating H-1B visas requires employers to hire U.S. citizens first or lay them off last. As a result, legions of high tech workers report receiving pink slips while the H-1B workers in the cubicles next to them kept their jobs.
Inadequate Protection for U.S. Workers
A frequent claim in defense of the H-1B program is that protections are built in to prohibit employers from engaging in practices that will harm American workers. In reality, the protections are either very weak or nonexistent, as is enforcement of these rules.
Fraud and Abuse
The temporary worker program has been found to be exploited by fraudulent applications. The INS conducted a study of 3,247 H-1B applicants who applied at an American consulate in India (Indians account for about half of all H-1B visas issued13) and were unable to verify the authenticity of almost 45 percent of the claims made on the petitions.
Job shops abuse the system and workers
The DOL found that six percent of H-1B aliens were contracted out to other companies. These ‘body shops’ typically treat workers as indentured servants, giving the alien enough money for living expenses and keeping the rest as a “fee.” Employers also abuse workers through the use of non-performance agreements.
Background – US Consulates Limited Operations, Visa Slots Issues
US Consulates have been operating with very limited capacity for over a year now due to the COVID Pandemic. The situation of US Visa slots availability is limited globally and many are scrambling for visa slots.
US Visa Interview Waived for certain H1B, H4, L1, Other Work Visas
US Dept of State after working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has given the authority to US Consular Officers to waive in-person visa interviews for certain temporary work visa applicants if they meet certain criteria as listed below.
Interview Waivers for certain F, M, J visa Applicants
US Dept of State is extending the previously approved policy to waive the visa interview for certain students, professors, research scholars, other specialists who apply for F (F1, F2), M, and academic J visas if they meet all of the below criteria:
How does Interview Waiver Work in CGI Federal System ?
On Jan 1, 2022, USTravelDocs / CGI Federal Website that is used to book the US visa appointments got updated with the new Interview Waiver exception that was announced by US Dept of State on Dec 23rd, 2021. Below is how it works in the CGI Federal website booking system.
US Visa Renewals using Dropbox – 48 Months Rule
US Dept of State has extended the 48-month US Visa Renewal rule using the Dropbox option indefinitely. Meaning, there is no deadline as such when this will end. This was supposed to end on December 31, 2021. See below screenshot confirming the same.
Latest News Updates : New Interview Waiver Implementation, Slots
January 1st, 2022: Today, US Dept of State rolled out the new Interview Waiver rule that was announced on Dec 23rd, 2021 that waives in-person interview for many who meet the requirements as mentioned in above article. We have added a new section in the above article that shows the new questions and how the system works.
Key News
- On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) issued an Office of Foreign Labor Certification H-1B Program Bulletin and a Wage and Hour Division Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) revising its interpretation of its regulations concerning which employers of H-1B workers …
General Guidance
- Field Assistance Bulletin 2019-3: Compliance with the H-1B Notice Requirement by Electronic Posting(PDF)
- Employment Law Guide: Workers in Professional and Specialty Occupations (H-1B and H-1B1 Visas)
- Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Prevailing Wage Determinations for Nonagricultural Programs
- Wages under Foreign Labor Certification
Forms
Disqualified and Willful Violator Employers
- DOL maintains a list of individuals or corporations who, as a result of an H-1B investigation/final agency action, have been disqualified from approval of petitions to participate in the nonimmigra...
Nonimmigrant Worker Related Agency Links
Overview
The H-1B is a visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H) that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A specialty occupation requires the application of specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or the equivalent of work experience. The duration of stay is three years, extendable to six years; after which the visa holder may need to reapply. Laws limit the number …
Notes
1. ^ "Worldwide NIV Workload by Visa Category FY 2019" (PDF). United States Department of State. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
2. ^ "8 U.S. Code § 1184 - Admission of non immigrants". LII / Legal Information Institute.
3. ^ "8 U.S. Code § 1184 - Admission of non-immigrants". LII / Legal Information Institute.
Structure of the program
An H-1B visa allows an individual to enter the United States to temporarily work at an employer in a specialty occupation. The regulations define a specialty occupation as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, computing, architecture, engineering, statistics, physical sciences, journalism, medicine and health: doctor, dentists, nurses, physiothe…
Application process
The process of getting a H-1B visa has three stages:
• The employer files with the United States Department of Labor a Labor Condition Application (LCA) for the employee, making relevant attestations, including attestations about wages (showing that the wage is at least equal to the prevailing wage and wages paid to others in the company in similar positions) and working conditions.
History
On June 27, 1952, Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act after overriding a veto by President Harry S. Truman. For the first time, the Immigration and Nationality Act codified United States' immigration, naturalization, and nationality law into permanent statutes, and it introduced a system of selective immigration by giving special preference to foreigners possessing skills that are urgently needed by the country. Several different types of visas were established, including …
Protections for U.S. workers
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for ensuring that foreign workers do not displace or adversely affect wages or working conditions of U.S. workers. For every H-1B petition filed with the USCIS, there must be included a Labor Condition Application (LCA) (not to be confused with the labor certification), certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. The LCA is designed to ensure that the wage offered to the non-immigrant worker meets or exceeds the "pr…
Impact
Studies have shown that H-1B visas have welfare-improving effects for Americans, leading to significant wage gains, lower consumer prices, greater innovation, and greater total factor productivity growth. While H-1B visas lead to lower wages and employment for competing U.S. workers, H-1B visas have led to lower prices for consumers, greater output, and improved performance by companies. H-1B visa holders have been associated with greater innovation an…
Criticisms of the program
The H-1B program has been criticized on many grounds. It was the subject of a hearing, "Immigration Reforms Needed to Protect Skilled American Workers," by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on March 17, 2015. According to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the committee:
The program was intended to serve employers who could not find the skilled workers they need…