VISA2US Blog

One of the most popular work visas, the H-1B, has always had strict requirements to get and keep its validity. But now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is trying to amend some of these requirements and oversight. The proposed rule affects H-1B specialty occupation employees and F-1 students who have filed H-1B Cap Subject Petitions. What does this rule include, and how might it affect you? We’ll break it down here.

For decades, the US has relied upon foreign workers to fill vital positions in the labor market, including both skilled and unskilled jobs. In more recent years, the focus has shifted to ensure critical industries, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), are taken care of through work visas such as the H-1B. This program has been in place since 1990 and is run by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Since its implementation, the H-1B program has significantly impacted the US economy, and we’ll discuss the effects here.

It’s not a surprise that immigration visas are backlogged for many categories in various countries, particularly India’s H-1B visa. But with a wait time of over ten years for thousands of individuals, it’s understandable that their patience is disappearing. Now, presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is promising to overhaul the H-1B visa program, replacing the outdated system with a more fair process. What is he promising, and how is it being received? We’ll explain here.

When you’re trying to obtain an H-1B visa, you must abide by specific beginning and ending dates, and these aren’t always optimal. This can be particularly concerning when you’re a student finishing your university program with a gap between your last day of school and your first day at your new job. Since this is relatively common, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a process in place to streamline your H-1B petition and allow you to remain in the US with a cap gap extension.

Everyone in the immigration world has closely followed the results of FY 2024’s lottery since the first round selection in March. Once US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported a substantial number of potentially fraudulent registrations, we wondered what the effects would be. USCIS announced a second lottery in July to fill the gaps between the accepted registrations and the allotted amount of visas, and the results show even more fraud than was visible during the first round. Read on for the details.

If you’ve been paying attention to the H-1B visa petitions this year, you’ve seen the headlines about the record-setting FY 2024 lottery numbers. However, US Citizenship and Immigration Services attributes this high number to fraudulent attempts of registering multiple registrations of the same individuals. This significant issue heavily impacted the lottery system this year, causing USCIS to review and reform registration processes. But since new data shows that more than 75% of H-1B registrations amongst the individually filed petitions would’ve been rejected anyway, a deeper problem runs through this system. How is USCIS addressing the visible issues from FY 2024’s lottery? Read on to find out.

If you’ve paid attention to the immigration scene in the United States recently, you’ve heard about the mass layoffs in the tech industry over the past year. As mega-corporations dealt with the long-term fallout of the pandemic, a somewhat unexpected result was the need to reduce jobs significantly, to the tune of tens of thousands of H-1B visa beneficiaries. These visa holders faced the serious threat of losing their status if they didn’t find a new job before the end of their grace period. Against the odds, 90% of visa holders were able to successfully navigate this challenge. How did they make this happen, and what can you learn from it as an H-1B visa employer or employee? Read on to find out.

The H-1B visa is one of the most sought-after work visas available. Although it’s challenging and costly to obtain this coveted document, that doesn’t stop millions of people from registering and petitioning for it. The advantages of having an H-1B visa are significant, ranging from family benefits to a green card path. It’s not surprising that once a beneficiary receives the visa, they don't want to give it up. However, the initial H-1B validity period is three years, with an optional three-year extension. What happens once you reach this six-year maximum? Well, if you know what you’re doing and work with an immigration expert, you may be able to extend your document beyond that period. Here, we will discuss the most essential things you need to know about an H-1B extension beyond six years and the processing time for this to happen.

Foreign nationals on an F-1 student visa often prefer to stay in the United States and continue their careers. The H-1B work visa is one way to do this. However, most job offers are obtained through businesses under the “capped” category. In these situations, a limited number of visas are allotted annually, and those approved can’t enter the US to begin work until October 1 of that fiscal year. So what happens to those in F-1 status who are approved for an H-1B visa but their OPT authorization or F-1 grace period expires before October 1? That’s where the H-1B Cap Gap Extension kicks in, and we’ll explain the details here.

It’s no secret that this year’s cap filing numbers were substantially higher than predicted or that many registrations are being inspected for potential fraud. Whether the fraudulent claims are based on legitimate abuse or simply careless mistakes remains to be seen, but the fact is that you want your H-1B registration to stand up to scrutiny. To ensure your petition is adjudicated successfully, avoid these common filing mistakes in the future.