Why Trump’s plan to put restrictions on H-1B visa may not help US workers

Research suggests that, if anything, being in a field with more H-1B visa-holders makes it more likely that US-born young college graduates work in a job closely related to their college major

The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation.

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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. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. On April 1, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the US received nearly 275,000 unique registration requests for the Congressional mandated 85,000 H-1B visas for foreign technology professionals, of which more than 67 per cent are from India.

The National Foundation for American Policy said that the findings of its new research should give pause to policymakers considering imposing additional restrictions on the H-1B programme. The Trump administration has been planning new restrictions on the H-1B visas premised on the argument that foreign-born scientists and engineers harm the job prospects of US college graduates.

There is little reason to think doing so will help American workers, the think-tank said in its latest research. The H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, according to new research. On the contrary, the evidence points to the presence of H-1B visa holders being associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates, the report said…

US hikes H-1B application fee by $10 as part of revised selection process

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency

The United States has announced the increase of H-1B work visa application fee by $10 as part of its revised selection process.

This non-refundable fee will support the new electronic registration system to make the H-1B cap selection process more efficient for both petitioners and the federal agency, said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday. “This effort will help implement a more efficient and effective H-1B cap selection process,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli.

“The electronic registration system is part of an agency-wide initiative to modernise our immigration system while deterring fraud, improving vetting procedures and strengthening program integrity,” he said. The H-1B Visa programme allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.

Upon implementation of the electronic registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with the USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended, the USCIS said. The federal agency is slated to implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap selection process, pending completed testing of the system.

Over 21,00,000 Indians applied for H-1B visa in last 11 years: Report

On an average, their salary over the last 11 years has been USD 92,317 and an overwhelming majority of them are masters or bachelor's degree holder.

More than 21 lakh Indian technology professionals have applied for H-1B work visas in the last 11 years, an official report has said.

The report of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has also refuted the impression that those who applied for the visa were not highly qualified.

On an average, their salary over the last 11 years has been USD 92,317 and an overwhelming majority of them are masters or bachelor's degree holder.

According to the report since 2007 till June this year, the USCIS received 3.4 million (34 lakh) H-1B visas applications, of which people from India accounted for 21 lakh. During the same period, the US issued H-1B visas to 26 lakh people, the USCIS said in its report, which however does not give countrywide breakdown.

In terms of number of H-1B applications between 2007 and 2017, India is followed by a distant China with 296,313 H-1B applications, Philippines (85,918), South Korea (77,359), and Canada (68,228). (ECONOMY & POLICY NEWS)

The report said majority (23 lakh) of the beneficiary of H-1B visas were in the age group of 25-34, and 20 lakh came from the computer related occupation category. Computer was followed by architecture, engineering, and surveying (318,670), education (244,000), administrative specialisations (245,000), and medicine and health (185,000).(READ MORE)