Washington:
The Biden administration has announced that it is delaying the H-1B policy of the prior Trump administration on allocation of the common foreign work visas by continuing with the lottery program till December 31, 2021, to give the immigration agency more time to create, test and implement the modifications to the registration program.
On January 7, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced to do away with the regular lottery program in deciding the prosperous applicants for the H-1B visas.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that makes it possible for US providers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that need theoretical or technical experience. The technologies providers rely on it to employ tens of thousands of staff each and every year from nations like India and China.
The USCIS had stated it would prioritise wages to defend the financial interests of American workers, and improved make certain that the most very skilled foreign workers advantage from the short-term employment programme.
In a statement on Thursday, the USCIS stated that it is delaying the rule”s productive date till December 31, 2021. The Trump-era rule was scheduled to go into impact on March 9.
“To give USCIS more time to develop, test, and implement the modifications to the H-1B registration system and selection process, DHS is delaying the effective date of this final rule from March 9, 2021, to December 31, 2021,” it stated.
This is due to the fact it will not have sufficient time to full program improvement, completely test the modifications, train employees and conduct public outreach necessary to make certain an productive and orderly implementation of the H1B Selection Final Rule by the time the initial registration period will be open for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap season, the USCIS stated.
The delay will also provide more time for the USCIS to train employees and carry out public outreach as properly as give stakeholders time to adjust to the new rule. For the upcoming H-1B cap season, the USCIS will apply the present regulations (random choice) to any registration period that requires location just before December 31, 2021, the statement stated.
On January 7, the USCIS argued that carrying out away with the lottery program and replacing that with a merit-based and wage-based program will incentivise employers to either supply greater salaries or petition for greater-skilled position or each. This will additional establish a more specific strategy for corporations to get personnel and stay globally competitive. A formal federal notification was issued on January 8.
“The current H-1B random selection process makes it difficult for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the programme to compete for the best and brightest international workforce, and has predominantly resulted in the annual influx of foreign labour placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers,” Joseph Edlow, the USCIS Deputy Director for Policy, had stated.
The USCIS can problem a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas in a year. It can also problem a different 20,000 H-1B visas to foreign students who have completed greater research from a US university in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.
A formal notification is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 8.
“During the delay, while USCIS works through the issues associated with implementation, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership will also evaluate the January 8th rule and its associated policies, as is typical of agencies at the beginning of a new administration,” stated the federal notification to be published on February 8.
The DHS desires to make certain the orderly and effective administration of the H-1B numerical allocations and desires to prevent disruption to the regulated public by affording itself adequate time to totally modify and completely test the alterations to the H-1B registration program, minimise technical dangers that outcome from a compressed testing schedule, and provide the regulated public sufficient time to turn into familiar with these alterations to facilitate complete compliance with the new regulatory specifications.
The DHS stated it believes that a longer delay is necessary to prevent the confusion and disparate remedy of registrants that would outcome if a new rule took impact for the duration of the initial registration period, or a subsequent registration and choice period, for the FY 2022 numerical allocations, especially if the USCIS wants to open a subsequent registration period later this year to make certain complete utilisation of the FY 2022 numerical allocations.
On December 31 final year, then president Donald Trump extended a freeze on the most sought-soon after H-1B visas along with other kinds of foreign work visas by 3 months to March 31, affecting a significant quantity of Indian IT pros who had been issued visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021.
Joe Biden had promised to lift the suspension on H-1B visas, saying Trump’s immigration policies are cruel.