H1 B VISA

H1 B VISA

Subject : International Relations

Context : The United States on Thursday announced that it will modify the selection process for H-1B visa, giving priority to salary and skills, instead of the current lottery procedures.

Concept :

• 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.
• It has predominantly resulted in the annual influx of foreign labor placed in low-wage positions at the expense of US workers.
• Modifying the H-1B cap selection process will incentivise employers to offer higher salaries, and/or petition for higher-skilled positions, and establish a more certain path for businesses to achieve personnel needs and remain globally competitive, said US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• The final rule will be effective 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register. The next H-1B visa filing season is slated to start on April 1.

H1 B VISA

• The H-1B category is an expedient and lawful method to bring foreign-born professionals temporarily to the United States, and therefore one of the most widely sought after visa classifications for employment in the United States.
• The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H).
• It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.
• If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer (subject to application for adjustment of status and/or change of visa), or leave the U.S.
• An individual may work in H-1B status for a maximum of six years