H-1B Visa Application Process Begins Today: 10 Things To Know

From April 2, 2018, USCIS or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will start accepting H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2019, beginning October 1, the US immigration body has said. The H-1B visas are considered the most sought-after work visa among highly skilled Indian professionals. The H-1B 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.

10 Things To Know About H-1B Visa Application Process

1) Days ahead of the start of the H-1B visa application process, USCIS warned that all duplicate applications would be subject to rejection.

2) The H-1B 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.

3) A strong indication has come from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS, the federal agency which is responsible to process all H-1B visas, that there will be zero tolerance by it for even the minutest of errors.

4) Reports suggest that immigration attorneys this time expect a much high rate of rejection.

5) Expecting a huge rush of application beginning today and greater scrutiny of all petitions, which would require much more man hours, USCIS has also temporarily suspended premium processing.

6) Meanwhile, USCIS has said that it will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a US master's degree or higher.

7) This suspension is expected to last until September 10, 2018. During this temporary suspension, USCIS will reject any Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, filed with an FY 2019 cap-subject H-1B petition.

8) During this time, USCIS will however continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap.

9) Ahead of the H-1B visa filing process, USCIS said this work visa should help US companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country.

10) "Employers who abuse the H-1B visa program may negatively affect US workers, decreasing wages and opportunities as they import more foreign workers," it said. (With Agency Inputs)