US proposes 4 H-1B visa program changes

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modernize the H-1B specialty occupation worker program by streamlining eligibility requirements, improving program efficiency, providing employers and workers with more benefits and flexibilities, and strengthening integrity measures.

For those unfamiliar, the H-1B program enables American corporations acquire the workers they need to satisfy their business objectives and compete globally. It is a popular Indian visa scheme.

The H-1B non-immigrant visa program permits US firms to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialist jobs, which need highly specialized expertise and a bachelor's or higher degree in the field, or its equivalent.

The regulation would enhance H-1B by:

* Streamlining eligibility requirements: Criteria for specialty occupation positions would be revised to reduce confusion between the public and adjudicators and to clarify that a position may allow a range of degrees, but the degree field(s) must directly relate to the position's duties;

* Improving program efficiency: The proposed rule requires adjudicators to defer to a previous ruling where no underlying facts have changed at date of filing;

* Giving companies and workers more advantages and flexibility: charitable enterprises, governmental research organizations, and beneficiaries not directly employed by a qualified organization would get more H-1B limit exemptions.