What to know about the H-1B visa program

It is planned that on April 3rd, 2017, President Trump will stop accepting premium payments of $1,225, which has in the past expedited the visa process to 15 days.

USICS says that it’s suspending premium processing in order to catch up on “long-pending petitions” – which the agency says has been hard because of the large number of H-1B applications and requests for premium processing it receives. In the last 15 years, approximately 15,000 foreign doctors came here to serve underserved communities in America by using the H-1B program.

“I think that removing premium processing may allow the administration to pick who to prioritize in the wait times for H-1B visas”, Ruiz told CNNMoney.

Last few years have seen a dramatic rise in applications, and hence, processing time.

USCIS said that during the suspension period, individuals still can request expedited consideration, but must meet certain criteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe financial loss to a company or individual.

“While it may not affect a huge percentage of the H-1B worker population, those who will be affected may be impacted in a very significant way”, said Dimo Michailov, an immigration attorney with the Capitol Immigration Group in Bethesda, Md. In past years, applicants who won the lottery and had included the additional fee in their application would be processed at a faster rate, while those who lost the lottery wouldn’t have their checks cashed. The facility for premium processing is utilised largely by those who are already in the United States on these visas. Some expressed that the motivation behind the directive is highly suspect, hinting that the move may be linked to Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown.

Third, employers should ensure that any premium processing requests for H-1B petitions submitted prior to April 3 include separate checks for the underlying petition filing and the Form I-907 “Request for Premium Processing”.

“Suspension is an internal decision of the USCIS and it does not signal any policy change”.

H-1B visas are temporary work visas for people with special qualifications and it is used mostly by Indian techies. They can’t. Are they going to increase the salary of employees sent on H-1B visas?

India’s foreign secretary S Jaishankar recently was on a visit to the United States recently along with other high-ranking Indian officials, to put forth India’s view that the issue surrounding the visa regime was a matter of trade and not immigration.

The immigration ban, which barred citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country, was less about protecting American workers and more about promoting Trump’s anti-immigrant ideology and keeping his controversial campaign promises. In the United States, after a Senator or a Congressman introduces a bill, it has to be discussed.