Demand for IT workers hits a record high as H1B visa approvals reach 98% this year

With demand for technical expertise in the United States continuing to rise, the US administration has granted many H-1B visas this year.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, H-1B visa approval rates for the first three quarters of the US fiscal year accounted for 98.1% in June and 97% in the first three quarters of the year during the previous Donald Trump administration, respectively.

H-1B visas are mainly issued to Indian IT professionals. Companies in the technical industry hire thousands of employees from India and China each year. H-1B visas let employers hire high-skilled workers only if they are unable to find qualified American workers.

2021 Will Be A Year Of High Visa Approval Rates:

As US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rejected more visa applications or requested additional supporting documents during the Trump administration, approval rates dropped.

Since the agency did not receive enough applications to meet the Congressionally-mandated cap, it decided to hold a second lottery for the next fiscal year.

H1B Visa Seekers Get Major Relief:

In June, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced updating its policies regarding expedited processing of applications. 

In addition, the guidance regarding Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) has been changed, and the validity period for certain RFEs has been extended.

USCIS has taken this step so that applicants can now correct mistakes and unintentional omissions.

”We are taking action to eliminate policies that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system and will continue to make improvements that help individuals navigate the path to citizenship and that modernize our immigration system.”

–Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas.

Procedures for applying for visas are being reformed:

Each year, the US issues 85,000 H-1B visas. Despite this, the number of visa registrations issued by USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) exceeds the total number of visas issued annually.

The USCIS received nearly 2.67 lakh registrations in the past year, more than 60% of which came from India. As a result, the USCIS used a process of random selection to choose the candidates.

For the first time in 30 years, the immigration agency had to conduct a second lottery for COVID-19 in 2020 after not receiving enough applications to meet the annual quota of 85,000 visas.

Last month, the agency announced that it would conduct a second lottery for the next fiscal year since it had not received enough applications to meet the Congressionally-mandated cap.

According to immigration experts, reforming the visa application process will require companies to apply for visas over six months before deploying employees.

“I fundamentally believe that the registration system needs to be modified or revised as it has allowed for many to game the system and take away opportunities for others…. I believe the lottery system should be completely taken away, and US employers should be allowed to file anytime during the year when they have need. We are in a labor shortage in the US, and eliminating this archaic lottery system would be helpful to the US economy,”

– Nandini Nair, partner at Greenspoon Marder, a law firm.

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