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US suspends expedited processing of H-1B visas

US suspends expedited processing of H-1B
By Faith Karimi, CNN



Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT) March 4, 2017

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Story highlights
  • The suspension is effective April 3
  • It could last up to six months

(CNN)The
suspending expedited processing of H-1B visas, eliminating the option of shorter wait times for the program that helps highly skilled foreigners work at US companies.

Under the current system, companies submitting applications for H-1B visas for potential employees can pay extra for expedited processing, which is referred to as premium processing.

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Indian official says H-1B visas bolster jobs 01:31
Premium processing costs an additional $1,225 and ensures a response from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in 15 days or the fee is refunded. Processing of standard H-1B applications -- those that are not premium -- takes between three to six months.
The suspension is effective April 3, and could last up to six months, according to USCIS.
The change comes as President Donald Trump is said to be drafting a new version of his court-halted executive order that banned travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. The new ban will exclude existing visa holders, sources familiar with the plan have told CNN.

Fierce competition[/paste:font]
The H-1B visa program is the main pathway for highly skilled foreigners to work at US companies. Various industries, including tech, engineering, journalism, medicine and academia, vie each year for the program's 85,000 visas.
The visas are doled out by a lottery, and the number of applicants continues to swell each year. Last year, the demand was three times greater than the quota.
Outsourcing firms flood the system with applicants, obtaining visas for foreign workers and then farming them out to tech companies. They take a sizable cut of the salary.
While the visas are used to fill the US skills gap, Trump has spoken out about abuse of the program.
Calls for reform
A bipartisan bill introduced this week in Congress calls for reform of visas for highly skilled workers.
Lawmakers for years have debated proposals to change the popular H-1B visa program, with suggestions for how to fix it a highly contentious topic.
The proposed legislation would eliminate the lottery system in favor of a "preference system" created by USCIS to give priority to foreign students educated in the US. In doing so, it would aim to weed out foreign outsourcing firms, which are said to exploit the system.
It would also require employers to make a "good faith effort" to recruit American workers over foreigners, as well as give the departments of Homeland Security and Labor more authority to investigate fraud and abuse
 
Scam

1. US company Owners told by Indian CEO/Director, why train locals I can get you cheap labour
2. US company Say ok we will try
3. Indian CEO /director then , gets a third party company (Mostly Indian) they sign Big deal contract
4- US company pays BIG BUCKs , iNDIAN ceo gets cut from third party (Mostly under the table) , Third party takes 75% profits
5- With 10-15% of the money that US company pays they hire slave labours
6- Indian company sets up FAKE VISA application to bring SLAVE labourers to USA (Human Traficking )
7- American Jack and Jill keep applying and get no response for jobs
 
US suspends expedited processing for H-1B visas



The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Friday that it will temporarily suspend expedited processing for all H-1B petitions starting April 3.

H-1B visas allow highly skilled workers to spend three to six years at sponsoring companies in the U.S. They are particularly important to Bay Area technology firms, which use them to fill engineering positions.

This suspension, to last up to six months, will apply to applications filed for the fiscal year 2018.

There is an annual cap of 85,000 H-1B visas for for-profit companies. Applications typically exceed that cap within the first week they become available. The agency received 236,000 petitions for fiscal year 2017. Before the agency’s move Friday, a company could pay an extra $1,225 processing fee to know within 15 calendar days whether a prospective employee is eligible.

Decisions on the visas are ultimately made by lottery, however, and access to the expedited track does not impact an applicant’s probability of a winning lottery entry.

Piyumi Samaratunga, an immigration attorney at the law firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, said the suspension will significantly impact employers.

She said that she and her colleagues were baffled by the motivations behind the directive, adding that the $1,125 per premium processing application was a significant revenue stream for the government agency.

While it could be difficult to divorce the move Friday from the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, some experts believed the agency’s decision to be apolitical.

“It has everything to do with an understaffed, overworked, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” said Jason Finkelman, an Austin, Texas, immigration attorney, adding that the wait time for an H-1B visa in California is currently about eight months.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/US-suspends-expedited-processing-for-H1-B-visas-10976085.php
 
Fresh out of college, my employer was willing to sponsor my H1-B only because I was willing to take 30% salary than a US citizen. This is all bullshit that a country like US has shortage of engineers, its all about profit for companies who are hiring 100s of H1B visa holder.
 
There is no shortage of workers, its about lower pay.
 
Fresh out of college, my employer was willing to sponsor my H1-B only because I was willing to take 30% salary than a US citizen. This is all bullshit that a country like US has shortage of engineers, its all about profit for companies who are hiring 100s of H1B visa holder.
dude you are not 30% cheaper. Lawyer fees will run into 2000$ and another 3-4k for sponsoring you. Over a period of time it evens out. If your employer hires you on contract then they save money as they dont need to pay taxes like medicare,401,social security...etc

This is actually a good move, they might eliminate the lottery system and bring in merit based quota. Any way you can still use OPT and work for your employer, you will not pay any Social security tax which is good for you.

There is no shortage of workers, its about lower pay.
depends on the company, there are lot of companies which treat ppl like resources who want to low ball ppl.
In companies where innovation is required, ppl will sooner or later leave and business will spiral down.
 
What is the point not being politically correct ?

H1B = 86-95% used by Large Indian Human Trafficing Giants visa printing companies

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Well if Indian Human Trafficking giants had not abused the system the ban would not happen ruined yet again another country and system



Every one in US knows about the abuse


The roots of this abusive system come from implementation experience from Middle east where this system was first implemented

Mass shipment of workers cramed up in 1 room or 2 rooms
 
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