The H-1B Visa Filing Process Is Set to Get a Makeover in 2019--and What You Need to Know Now

[refugee 169]

https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/uscis-new-h1b-visa-process.html

 

You have until January 2, 2019, to learn about the new process and submit your comments.

 

Unveiled on December 3 by the Department of Homeland Security, the proposed new rule would require employers to register candidates online for H-1B visas a full two weeks before the traditional application deadline of April 1. Only those whose online submissions are accepted will be allowed to submit a full application. The new process would also flip the order in which petitions are reviewed and allocated, which would favor candidates with a master's degree or higher.

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U.S. Changes Visa Process for High-Skilled Workers

By

Louise Radnofsky

Louise Radnofsky

The Wall Street Journal

Updated Jan. 30, 2019 8:37 p.m. ET

 

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration unveiled changes to how the coveted visas for high-skilled foreign workers are allocated, starting this April, in an effort to boost the number awarded to people with advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

The change would result in up to 5,340 more immigrants with a master’s degree or higher getting selected for the visa, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which published the new rules.

 

The shift appears to fulfill a pledge President Trump made two years ago to help Silicon Valley companies by prioritizing the most skilled applicants for the visas, known as H-1B, and reducing the number of visas secured through outsourcing firms.

The new rules are likely to be challenged in court by those outsourcing companies, arguing that the administration has acted outside of its authority or sidestepped the full rulemaking process, said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and partner at Holland & Knight LLP.

He added that any court issuing a restraining order against the rules taking effect April 1 “could potentially throw the whole H-1B system into chaos.”

“If a lawsuit is filed, and an injunction is entered, it does have the risk of throwing the whole thing up in the air. That would be my greatest fear,” he said.

 

Michael Bars, a USCIS spokesman, said the rule was made “in compliance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.”

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-changes-visa-process-for-high-skilled-workers-11548879868?mod=hp_lead_pos10