Biden Admin decides to revert to lottery system for H-1B visas
The registration process for the H-1B visa application for the next fiscal year will begin on March 1 and the successful applicants through a computerised draw of lots would be notified by March 31, a federal agency has announced.
The notification by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday came a day after the Biden administration announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on the allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and implement the modifications to the registration system.
The USCIS announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2022 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 9 and run through noon March 25.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty 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.
During the registration period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to fill out petitioner and beneficiary information and submit their registrations, the USCS said.
The agency said if it receives enough registrations by March 25, it will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications by March 31.
The successful applicants would be able to join their new jobs in the US on October 1, when the American fiscal year starts.
As mandated by the Congress, USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The quick announcement by USCIS on the next year’s H-1B registration process comes a day after it said that it is delaying the implementation of the Trump administration policy of allocation of H-1B through a wage and skilled based process.
The Trump era rule was scheduled to go into effect on March 9. On January 7, the USCIS announced to do away with the traditional lottery system in deciding the successful applicants for the H-1B visas.
The USCIS had said it would prioritise wages to protect the economic interests of American workers, and better ensure that the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment programme.
In a statement on Thursday, the USCIS, however, said that it is delaying the rule’s effective date until December 31, 2021. The USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
A top Republican Senator has opposed the move of the Biden administration to resort to the traditional lottery system to issue H-1B visas to foreign professionals, saying it is giving Big Tech donors the gift of “cheap” foreign labour at the expense of American workers.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the previous Trump administration on the allocation of the popular foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery system until December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to develop, test and implement the modifications to the registration system.
The Trump-era rule was scheduled to go into effect on March 9.
“Big Tech abuses the H-1B visa program to hire cheap foreign labour instead of Americans. That isn’t good for American workers, but the Biden administration is letting companies get away with it,” Senator Tom Cotton said.
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 US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would prioritise wages to protect the economic interests of American workers, and better ensure that the most highly skilled foreign workers benefit from the temporary employment programme.
Senator Cotton from Arkansas said that H-1B visas should help fill labour shortages, not help Big Tech hire foreigners instead of Americans to save money.
“Biden officials say reforming the programme is too hard. In reality, they’re giving Big Tech donors the gift of cheap foreign labour-at the expense of American workers,” he alleged. The USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also issue another 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed higher studies from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
Early this week, the Department of Labor also proposed delaying the implementation of its final rule, entitled “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States.”
It revises how the existing four-tiered wage structure of the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) wage survey is calculated for purposes of determining prevailing wages.