US proposes changes to H1B visas; to be given to most skilled, highest paid foreign workers
Washington, Dec 1 : The Trump administration on Friday proposed major changes to the H-1B application process with the aim of awarding the visa to the most skilled and highest paid foreign workers.
Under a new proposed merit-based rule, a notice for which was issued on Friday, companies employing foreign workers on the H-1B visa under the Congressional mandated annual caps -- would have to electronically register with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during a designated registration period.
The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap.
The USCIS would also reverse the order allowing it to select H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption.
This is likely to increase the number of foreign workers with a master's or higher degree from a US institution of higher education to be selected for an H-1B cap number. As such the proposed rule will introducing a more meritorious selection of beneficiaries, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.
The DHS said public comments on the proposed rule can be submitted from December 3 to January 2.
"Currently, in years when the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption are both reached within the first five days that H-1B cap petitions may be filed, the advanced degree exemption is selected prior to the H-1B cap.
"The proposed rule would reverse the selection order and count all registrations or petitions towards the number projected as needed to reach the H-1B cap first," the DHS said.
Once a sufficient number of registrations or petitions have been selected for the H-1B cap, the USCIS would then select registrations or petitions towards the advanced degree exemption.
This proposed change would increase the chances that beneficiaries with a master's or higher degree from a US institution of higher education would be selected under the H-1B cap and that H-1B visas would be awarded to the most-skilled and highest-paid beneficiaries, it said.
The proposed process would result in an estimated increase of up to 16 per cent (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected H-1B beneficiaries with a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education, the DHS said.
The USCIS said it expects that shifting to electronic registration would reduce overall costs for petitioners and create a more efficient and cost-effective H-1B cap petition process for the agency.
The proposed rule would help alleviate massive administrative burdens on USCIS since the agency would no longer need to physically receive and handle hundreds of thousands of H-1B petitions and supporting documentation before conducting the cap selection process, it said.
This would help reduce wait times for cap selection notifications. The proposed rule also limits the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions to the beneficiary named on the original selected registration, which would protect the integrity of this registration system, USCIS said.
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Speculation over Nitish Kumar’s Rajya Sabha entry roils Bihar; Giriraj calls it ‘Holi prank’
Patna (PTI): Bihar was abuzz with speculation on Wednesday over rumours that JD(U) president and the state’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may move to the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for the BJP to take the top post while accommodating his son Nishant as deputy CM.
However, senior BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh dismissed the rumour as a "Holi prank", asserting "Nitish Kumar ji is the chief minister".
The filing of nomination papers for five Rajya Sabha seats in the state will close on Thursday.
While the BJP has named its two candidates, including national general secretary Nitin Nabin, and confirmed a second consecutive term for junior NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha, the JD(U) is yet to officially announce its nominees.
The rumours of Kumar, who turned 75 earlier this month, being one of the candidates of JD(U), surfaced a day after the party had announced that his son Nishant would be making a belated entry into politics.
Earlier, there were speculations that the reclusive Nishant, who is in his late 40s and is yet to be formally inducted into the JD(U), could be sent straight to the Rajya Sabha.
However, with less than 24 hours left for filling of nomination papers, several media outlets ran reports claiming that the chief minister, who has been at the helm since 2005, could choose the Rajya Sabha route to make an "honourable exit".
According to these unconfirmed reports, the BJP, which has been outperforming the JD(U) in elections, will have its own CM in the only Hindi heartland state where the highest seat of power has eluded it.
These reports also suggested that as a bargain, Kumar could settle for the deputy CM's post for his son.
When Giriraj Singh, who represents Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in the state, was approached with queries, he said, "Today is Holi. Such pranks are common on the occasion. Nitish Kumar ji is the chief minister".
JD(U) MLC Sanjay Kumar alias Gandhi ji, a close aide of the party supremo, reacted with bewilderment when his response was sought to the rumours.
"We have no information about who will be the Rajya Sabha candidates of the party. There is an impression that Union minister Ram Nath Thakur may retain his seat, but that is also not official. As regards the other seat, it is a decision to be taken by the chief minister, who is known to reveal his cards at the eleventh hour. We cannot say anything on the reports in the media," he said.
