The H-1B is a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa category that allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations” that require at least a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent. Jobs in fields such as mathematics, engineering, technology, and medical sciences often qualify. Typically, the initial duration of an H-1B visa classification is three years, which may be extended for a maximum of six years.
Before an employer can file a petition with USCIS, the employer must take steps to ensure that hiring the foreign worker will not harm U.S. workers.
Employers first must attest, on a labor condition application (LCA) certified by the Department of Labor (DOL), that employment of the H-1B worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Employers must also provide existing workers with notice of their intention to hire an H-1B worker.
Agency says inflated demand is partly due to employer fraud
Critics of the H-1B lottery program have long suspected that employers have been trying various ways to game the system, from submitting multiple applications for the same person to setting up a structure of contract or consulting-vendor arrangements to file for the same person. But this year, the number of ineligible registrations submitted by multiple employers conspiring together was so high that the problem was publicly addressed.
It will be interesting to see how many registrations get approved and if limits are enforced. Therefore, the title of this post jumps the gun a bit.
My theory is that they are massively inflating the registrations, even admitting to it, but ultimately scapegoating employers and utilizing it as political grounds to drastically increase the caps.
"It is becoming more and more difficult to rationally explain our H-1B cap lottery system," said Wilson, a partner at Lippes Mathias and co-leader of the firm's immigration practice in Buffalo, N.Y. "How does the volume of registrations justify such a small cap of 85,000 each fiscal year? The numerator stays the same, but the denominator keeps growing and has more than doubled in two years. That math simply does not work anymore for such an important component of our immigration system."
US H1B visa denial rates hit record low https://workpermit.com/news/us-h1b-visa-denial-rates-hit-record-low-20220120
USCIS Receives Record Number of H-1B Registrations https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/uscis-receives-record-number-h1b-registrations.aspx
Agency says inflated demand is partly due to employer fraud
It will be interesting to see how many registrations get approved and if limits are enforced. Therefore, the title of this post jumps the gun a bit.
My theory is that they are massively inflating the registrations, even admitting to it, but ultimately scapegoating employers and utilizing it as political grounds to drastically increase the caps.