IT companies file lawsuit against US immigration agency over shorter duration of H1B visas
Washington, Oct 16 : An IT advocacy group representing more than 1,000 small IT companies mostly run by Indian-Americans has filed a lawsuit against the US immigration agency for issuing H-1B visas for shorter than three years durations.
The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
These visas are typically issued for three to six years to employers to hire a foreign worker.
Based out of Dallas in Texas, the ITServe Alliance in its 43-page lawsuit filed last week alleged that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has recently begun a practice of approving H-1B petitions for shorter than three years durations.
"These petitions are often valid for only months or days at a time, and some cases are expired by the time the approval is received," it said.
ITServe lawsuit against the USCIS alleges that the agency has no authority to misinterpret the existing regulations and shorten the approval durations.
In fact, the United States Congress has specifically granted power to the Department of Labor and DOL's regulations grant three-year approvals, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit also alleges that the itinerary requirement put forth by the USCIS is also unlawful.
This is the second lawsuit filed by ITServe against USCIS. In the first lawsuit filed in July 2018, ITServe demanded USCIS to remove language from their website prohibiting F-1 STEM OPT students working at the third part client locations.
"The USCIS has been making arbitrary rules and memos for over eight years, it's our top priority to set things right and hold USCIS accountable to follow the regulations set by the United States Congress," said ITServe's national president for 2018, Gopi Kandukuri.
Referring to the recent spate of H-1B denials that ITServe members received, Kandukuri added members of ITServe Alliance are tired of receiving random denials for no reason.
"The new battlefield for us is the federal courthouse and not USCIS service centers, he said.
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Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs
Ahmedabad, Apr 9 (PTI): Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs in their Indian Premier League match here on Wednesday.
Chasing 218 for a win, the Royals were all out for 159 in 19.2 overs.
Shimron Hetmyer top-scored for RR with a 32-ball 52 while captain Sanju Samson chipped in with a 28-ball 41.
For GT, Prasidh Krishna took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore got two each.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan struck a breezy 82 to help GT post 217 for 6.
Sudharsan's 53-ball innings was studded with eight fours and three sixes, while M Shahrukh Khan and Jos Buttler made 36 each.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 217 for 6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Jos Buttler 36, M Shahrukh Khan 36; Maheesh Theekshana 2/54, Tushar Deshpande 2/53).
Rajasthan Royals: 159 all out in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sanju Samson 41; Prasidh Krishna 3/24, Rashid Khan 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/20).
