As part of its effort to give greater chance to foreign workers who have received higher education from the US, the Trump administration on Wednesday formally announced a new rule related to the filing of H-1B visas, asserting that it is more efficient, effective and helps in attracting best talent in the US.
The final rule reverses the order by which US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B petitions under the regular cap and the advanced degree exemption.
Among other things, it introduces an electronic registration requirement for petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.
To be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, the new rule will go into effect on April 1, though the electronic registration requirement will be suspended for the fiscal year (FY) 2020 cap season, USCIS said. “These simple and smart changes are a positive benefit for employers, the foreign workers they seek to employ, and the agency’s adjudicators, helping the H-1B visa programme work better,” said USCIS Director Francis Cissna.
Early this month, President Donald Trump said he wants to bring in changes in the H-1B systems so that visa holders can stay in the country and accelerate their path to citizenship.
The new registration system, once implemented, will lower overall costs for employers and increase government efficiency, he said.
Cissna said USCIS is also furthering Trump's goal of improving the immigration system by making a simple adjustment to the H-1B cap selection process.
“As a result, US employers seeking to employ foreign workers with a US master's or higher degree will have a greater chance of selection in the H-1B lottery in years of excess demand for new H-1B visas,” Cissna said.