The Trump Administration and Its Impact on the H1B Visa Applications
Jul 3, 2017
Houston, TX (Law Firm Newswire) July 3, 2017 – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting H1B applications for the 2018 fiscal year beginning April 3, 2017 and ending April 7, 2017. The H1B cap was reached April 7, 2017. On April 11 a computer generated program selected the designated number of petitions to reach the cap.
Also on April 3, 2017 announcements were made by USCIS relating to new measures to prevent and report H1B fraud. It is anticipated that the H1B program may become tougher with higher wages and implement quota limits, but nothing has been put into place yet by the current administration, despite a signed executive order.
Currently, some of the H1B quotas subject to change without notice include, the regular H1B quota currently standing at 65,000 and the Master’s H1B quota (only U.S. degree eligible) currently standing at 20,000. Out of the total of 85,000 H1B quota 6,800 H1B visas are earmarked for Chile and Singapore residents, according to the free trade agreement between them. No word is available on whether this will change. To find out more about the history of H1B caps, visit: https://redbus2us.com/h1b-visa-total-cap-stats-from-1990-to-2017-trend-plot-until-2017/
Since President Trump has taken office, there has been speculation regarding changes to H1B policies. In fact, there are four H1B related bills in the House and Senate. However, nothing has passed to change the current caps despite the various rumors originating from Washington about wage limits, possible immigration bans for certain nationals, extra security screening at ports of entry and other considerations.
None of the proposed policies or rules relating to the H1B lottery have been passed yet; therefore, the rules, already in place, apply to the lottery for fiscal year of 2018. There is no doubt that there will be an H1B lottery this year for the H1B 2019 season, as the practice has become quite common in the last four years to deal with the high demand.
USCIS reports that the H1B lottery held on April 11 received 199,000 petitions for the fiscal year of 2018. Despite the fact that the H1B lottery is over for fiscal year of 2018, it is never too early to start planning for fiscal year 2019. “If you are concerned about the rules and regulations changing, reach out and speak to a competent immigration attorney who can help you make your way through the maze of new changes,” said noted Huston immigration attorney Annie Banerjee.
Learn more at http://www.visatous.com
Law Offices of Annie Banerjee
131 Brooks Street, Suite #300
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
Phone: (281) 242-9139
