Tech Companies Urging For More H-1B Visas For Skilled Workers

US Immigration reform is a much discussed issue  among the tech companies across the world. President Obama addressed the immigration reform too in his ‘State of the Union’ address. Many are of the opinion that the US administration will pass the legislative reforms by the end of this year. Tech companies are mulling over this topic, and are advocating that they are having difficulty in filling the jobs in the US with skilled workers and want to increase the number or quota of H-1B visas.

H-1B visa was introduced in the year 1952  as a part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. These are temporary work visas and are designed especially for foreign workers with expertise in maths, science, technology and engineering, or STEM fields. H-1B visas have to be sponsored by the employers, and the sponsored employees can then stay for a total period of 7 years and this includes periods of/for extensions of visa.

H-1B visas are very much sought after by companies. For 2014, US citizenship and immigration services  has received 1,24,000 applications for H-1B visas. USCIS had issued a statutory cap of 65,000 for the fiscal year 2014, and the employers then filed for the visas within the first week itself.

Industry leaders from the technology sector are seeking to influence the President and the Congress to take account of reforms that tackle the issues of the high skilled immigration system. Over 100 executives from technology industries have sent a letter to congressional leaders and  to President Obama with a plea to increase the quota of H-1B visas  for highly skilled workers and to streamline this process. They have also petitioned  them to not count children and spouses against the cap of visa.

They have also stated that many skilled workers who are leaving the US are not even bothering to apply for a visa before they want to leave, for the reason that there  is a lack of visas i.e.  shortages of visas and also lack of mobility.

Business leaders have also stated that many of the jobs remain unfilled because of the frustrating application process and visa caps. There are over 10,000 job openings from just about 4 companies Intel, IBM, Oracle and Microsoft, according to the letter sent from the business leaders.

The Popular H1-B Program Is Also Contentious

The US government has already completed its process for the H1-B visa lottery and those lucky enough to be among the 85,000 winners will be intimated soon. There were more than 172,000 foreign citizen applicants. And, the winners among them will be granted a 3-year H1-B visa to work for the companies who have sponsored them for the visa. Many of these workers are already present in the US. Also, some of them include those who are recent graduates from US universities and hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher in technological or scientific fields and which requires highly specialized training. These specialized fields typically include fields such as IT, Engineering and Science. 

The H1-B program was begun in 1990 when the US Congress passed the Immigration act. Currently, the legal cap for the number of visas that can be issued is 85,000. A USCIS spokesperson stated that both last year and the current year, the mandated cap of 85,000 have been used up or during the first week after the start or beginning of the visa lottery. He noted that the H1-B program is becoming more competitive every passing year. But, he advised that foreign employees as also foreign employers should not be discouraged.

There have been supporters as well as critics of the program and the program has become a contentious one. US Senator, Orrin Hatch  is among those who is a staunch supporter of the H1-B program. He actually contends that more alien workers should be given visas through the program. Thus, he argues that within such a short time, the quota for the H1-B visa seekers has been filled and so, but many of those who have high skills, knowledge and expertise would like to come in, but are not being allowed inside the US to work because of the visa cap. He further noted and stated that these visas are short-term visas and expire fast and thus the US is actually losing those very people the US needs, if and as the H1-B holders return home. 

He also added that among the applicants is a pool of people who have been educated and trained at US institutions of learning. And that this pool of people is eager to help US companies to grow and retain their technological edge. But, there are harsh critics of the H1-B as well, some of who disagree with the above arguments. Thus, some of them argue that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Education, there are more number of highly qualified people than are needed in the US. Others argue that, typically, employers pay less to those who work on H1-B visas (i.e. they constitute cheaper labour or work force) than others (e.g. US natives) and since this constitutes significant savings for the company, they opt for it.

Thus, it can be surmised that though the continuation of the H1-B program is not in doubt, what form it may take in the future is a matter of debate and unknown.  

US Graduate Schools Witness Rise In Number Of Indian Students

The number of Indian students applying for US Graduate schools has increased steeply in succession for the second time now.
 
US witnessed a rise of 7% in the number of international students applying for Graduate colleges. 

There has been a rise of 32% in the number of applications received from Indian students during the current year. In 2013, there had been a rise of 22% in the number of applications filed to US graduate colleges. Most of the Indian graduate students enroll themselves in professional-degree programs or Master’s degree.

According to a recent report, there has been a decline in the number of Indian and Pakistani students applying for universities of UK. Ms. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has said that the students could have chosen US graduate colleges instead of UK colleges.

UK has witnessed a fall in the students from India. Even Australia had seen a fall in the student from overseas because of rigid visa rules
 
Ms. Stewart is worried that until the lawmakers of US implement changes to the existing visa policy to provide easier means for the foreigners to stay in the country, there are fewer chances to retain the same number as of now. 

One Out Of Every Three Workers On A Temporary Visa In The US Is From India

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a report stating that the majority of workers residing in the US on a temporary visa are from India. 

They have stated that one individual out of three are Indians. 

The DHS has conducted a survey from 1st July, 2011 to 30th June, 2012. 

The numbers come from a survey conducted between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012, considering 1st January 2012 as the study’s time frame.

The survey scrutinized the countries from which 1.87 million resident non-immigrants inhabit in the US hail. The statistics were provided by the US Customs and Border Protection and was gathered from DHS Form I-94 Non-immigrant Arrival/Departure Record. 

The survey showed that 320,000 resident non-immigrant temporary workers residing in US out of 840,000 temporary workers are from India. 

The survey stated that Canada accommodated about 80,000 temporary workers, with China contributing 30,000 temporary workers. An additional 720,000 individuals residing in the US are graduates. 

The statistics stated that out of a total student population in US, 14% students are Indians, 50% students are from China and the third position is occupied by South Korea with almost 13% students residing in the US. The remaining 16% individuals are exchange visitors and foreign diplomats/ambassadorial representatives. 

The Asian countries such as India, China and Japan accounted for 22%, 11% and 5% individuals respectively, whereas South Korea has accounted for 8%. And, 80% of the resident non-immigrant individuals are aged between 18 and 44 years.

The US Administration Bringing In New Rules To Assist And Retain Skilled And Talented Alien Workers

The US administration is proposing new rules that will ease restrictions on those with high skills. Thus, those who are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workers are being provided concessions and benefits to retain and encourage them to stay back in the US. 

Thus, one of the major changes will see a provision that will allow the spouses of H-1 B visa holders to work legally in the US. So far, they were not allowed to do so. The administration’s commerce secretary, Penny Pritzker stated that these talented and skilled workers already have advanced degrees and training and are keen to stay back, but the rules that are in place are discouraging. 

Another area where there is going to be some change in the rules/laws is in the way that employers can and will hire alien researchers and professors. Now, the new regulations would allow the employers have/use a wider range of methods to establish that the alien researcher and professor is the best available in the field.

US commerce secretary, Ms. Pritzker also quoted some statistics and stated that about 28% of the new businesses and about 40% of the Fortune 500 companies are/were started by immigrants. As examples, she pointed out or mentioned the names of Andy Grove who was born in Hungary, Sergey Brin who is actually a Soviet immigrant and Yahoo co-founder, Jerry Yang, who is Taiwan-born.

Even while these pro-immigration measures are being contemplated and sought to be promulgated, there is criticism from opponents of immigration reform who say/state that these might be positive news and measures for foreign workers but is bad news for native Americans, as these measures will effectively lower wages and further hurt the labour market.

USCIS Announces Some Details Regarding Its Citizenship And Integration Grant Program, For FY 2014

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has declared/announced that it has started accepting applications from non-profit organizations, etc. for its Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, for the year FY 2014. This program is a competitive funding opportunity for public or non-profit organizations which encourage immigrant integration into the US society and prepare permanent residents for citizenship. The last/due date and time for receiving this application is 11:59 p.m. EDT, on May 16, 2014.

By providing these grants, to   non-profit or public organizations, on a competitive basis, the USCIS seeks to further enlarge its gamut, so as to make its services available to a wider area, extent, etc. and cover a wider populace. These grants will thus be provided to organizations that provide offer both naturalization application and citizenship instruction services to permanent residents of the US.

The USCIS has revealed that it will likely chose and provide grants  to up to 40 grant recipients in September 2014. The announcement also states that those organizations that are interested in providing these services and in taking up this offer must visit its web site at www.grants.gov for further details. It further states that this ought to be done at the earliest possible to get registration details which are required to complete/accomplish the application process.

And the announcement also adds that to obtain more information on the FY 2014 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, the interested may visit www.uscis.gov/grants. 

Obama Administration Stands By Immigrant Students' Right To Pursue School Education Through A Letter

According to news reports, the Obama administration has through a formal joint letter of the U.S. Education and Justice departments warned the state and local school districts that they ought not to stop children of undocumented immigrants from being admitted to schools. The letter states that the departments had come to know of this actions/practices being undertaken in some schools which intend to discourage or prevent or warn parents or their wards from enrolling in schools. The aforesaid letter added that such practices were in violation of federal laws. This letter which is further to and updates the guidelines of 2011 regarding this same matter/issue did not mention or indicate any names (of school districts).

This issue is one among the many that divide pro-immigrant and anti-immigrant advocates and bring them into sharp opposition. It is also a fact that some differences were/are there between some states and the federal government on this kind of issues. Even the courts have passed judgments in this regard and mostly these have been in favour of immigrant rights i.e. for allowing immigrant children s’ rights to study in schools. For example, there was a 2011 law of Alabama state that sought to ensure that schools ask the immigrant children their immigration status as well as of their parents. The courts blocked such laws from being implemented.

The joint letter on Thursday sought to seek the backing of U.S. Supreme Court's 1982 ruling in Plyler v. Doe, which effectively stated that citizenship status is not at all relevant to a pupil’s/student'sright/claim/guarantee to an elementary and secondary education. The letter also emphasized that school districts ought not to seek information from either parents or pupils to deny access to education based on race, color or nationality. In this regard, the letter spelled out what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

Indians Account For The Second Largest Group Of International Students In The US

Indians are recognized as the second largest number of international students in US as per the latest survey of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At present, a total number of 113,813 Indian students are registered in many US universities and educational institutions. From this count, three-fourth of Indian students are enrolled in STEM course (science, technology, engineering and Maths) i.e. 78 percent of Indian students.

China is at the top of the report with an overall count of 290,133 students registered in the various universities of US. SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) reported that over 37 percent of china’s students are registered in STEM courses. SEVIS is a web based system that incorporates the information concerned with exchange visitors and their dependents, international students etc. and this report contains statistics applicable till April 1 this year. Now, there are 1,015,178 students studying in US and the count of J-1 exchange visitors is 188,382 and along with the dependents, the count is 2,102,565.

The report stated that over 29 percent of international students (F and M category) are from china and a total of 56 percent of international students are males. It also stated that over 351,397 international students are enrolled for STEM and among them, Asia counts for 85 percent and 43 percent are in engineering.

SEVP, being a part of National Security Investigations Division, is a program in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and acts as mediator between government organizations which has interest in finding information pertained to non-immigrants who are coming to US for study. As per its study, there is an eight percent increase in enrollment of Indian students since 1 January. India, being at the second place, is followed by South Korea with a figure of 91,583 and Saudi Arabia has a count of 72,223.

The report revealed that there is an increase in the number of students studying in the US when compared with January statistics i.e. around eight percent of Indian students and 10 percent of Saudi Arabia students are studying in US. From India, over 78 percent of International students are in the STEM field and only eight percent of Japanese students are in the STEM field.

The Rapid Rise In The Growth Of Immigrants In The US Is Limited To Just A Few States

According to a blog report of a senior correspondent of a major daily newspaper in the US, 'The Washington Post', in just two decades, i.e. between 1990 and 2012, the number of foreign-born people in the US almost doubled, from 19.8 million to 40.7 million. These statistics, the blog writer or correspondent, opines, are significant for both the political parties – Republican and Democrat -- to think about and analyze. This is so because, particularly in the last presidential election, and even before, the Hispanic vote, which also constitutes of the above mentioned large number of foreign-born population, voted for Barack Obama. And, in the last two presidential elections, the two Republican candidates won only a small percentage of the Hispanic vote, according to the post/report of the senior correspondent.

This being so, the correspondent states that even though this represents a major political challenge for the Republicans, as they have been not been drawing and getting the backing, support, etc. and the votes of the Hispanic voting populace, this may be less worrisome in the short-term. This is so because, according to the blog report of the correspondent, even though, conventionally, the Hispanics vote for the democrats, and their population is increasing in the US, this increase has been happening only in a few states, where the Hispanics presently reside and where, very important to note and observe (according to the correspondent), the democrats already dominate politically. Thus, as the correspondent states, “vast majority of the growth in the immigrant population is happening in a relative static number of states”, which states are by now securely held by the Democrats, anyway.

So, as the correspondent concludes from his important report, while there has been a growth of immigrants, the states where the growth has happened or occurred, have remained quite static, or have changed just a little. Thus, in 2012, the top states where the maximum growth of immigrants has happened are California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, etc. And, this is not very different from the recent past.

US Department Of Labor Insists On Granting Green Cards To Overseas Graduates From US Universities

US Department of Labor is insisting the government of US to improve the attempts of inviting the foreign talent to the USA, by granting Green Cards to foreign students graduated from US universities.

The US Department of Labor was established in the year 1913 in order to encourage, promote, and improve the benefits of the job seekers, retirees, and wage earners of the US.

If this scheme gets executed, it could help US in ending the reverse brain drain. A number of students migrate to US from different countries every year to study in top US universities and colleges, but because of the US immigration policies they are moving back to their home countries taking back the skills and education. Eventually using the skills they perused in the development of some other country’s economy. This initiative can help in avoiding this situation.

In a recent CIS report it was shown that the number of graduates in the field of STEM and the number of jobs available in the same field are in the ratio of 2:1; average salary range for the STEM field jobs raised less than 1% from 2000 to 2012, which projects that the wages remained constant.

Obama Administration To Aid Illegal Children Immigrants Entering US

The number of young migrants crossing the US border illegally has escalated over the last year and the Obama Administration has declared a new method based on humanitarian grounds to deal with the issue.

The influx is referred to as a humanitarian crisis and the administration has decided to aid  young migrants who cross the US border illegally without any accompanying guardians. 

Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator are governing the new approach to integrate efforts from federal agencies in tackling the issue. 

Administration officials noted that a 90% rise is observed in the number of immigrants entering the US illegally. The illegal immigrants are under the age of 18 and most of them are young girls and young children under 13 years of age. Thus, the administration wants to make sure that all the educational, housing and medical needs of these children are addressed by transferring them from border control facilities to the Department of Health and Human Services’ facilities.

According to Officials, around 1000 young illegal migrants are being provided shelter at Lackland Air Force base located in San Antonio. The other facility is expected to be opened at Ventura County, California, to accommodate around 600 children. The children can reside for 30 to 45 days in these facilities.    

US Plans Hassle Free Visit Visa Procedures

US is planning to make hassle free visa approval and application process.

Vice president of government relations at the USTA, Patricia Rojas-Ungar said that their aim is to make the visa process more effective for the travelers coming from overseas including Saudi Arabia.

Number of overseas citizens and Saudis who  go through  an expensive, complex, and an unsuccessful visa approval process to visit US, can understand the reason as why US wishes to enhance visa process.

The Obama administration wishes to welcome over 100 million foreign travelers to the United States by 2021.

 

The president’s latest executive order has made it a most important consideration at the national level to compete in the successful global travel industry by introducing a new welcoming path for the foreign travelers worldwide.  Responding to this, US is improving its visa process more securely and efficiently.

USTA and its travel industry associates says that they expect a record number of visitors to the US.

 

At present Intenational travel industry is one of the highest contributors to the economic growth in US

National Flight Service, travel division manager Bosco Rodrigues said that the simple visa process also improved this economic growth in a positive manner. He expects persistent growth from the Gulf region to the US.

International Pow Wow (IPW) is working under the support of USTA to increase the number of overseas travelers to visit the United States.

US Visa Waiver For Peruvians Expected To Take Maximum Of Six Years

The National Chamber of Tourism’s (Canatur) has announced that the United States’ decision to include Peru in its visa waiver program intended for short-duration visits could take a time period from three to six years.

Under this program the visa requirements are lifted for short term visits with maximum duration of 90 days.

Jorge Jochamowitz, President of Canatur, said that the government of Peru is presently working in acquiring biometric passports to enhance immigration controls for fulfilling the visa free requirements to nations of Schengen area, after including Peru in list of visa free nations.

The fact is added to Barack Obama’s recent announcement asking senior officials of his administration to encourage the flow of visitors into his nation.

Jorge Jochamowitz said that when a country places a request for inclusion in the visa waiver program, the nation has to comply with the rules set by the U.S consular offices and the visa refusal rate for citizens of the country should be less than 3%. 

US Embassy To Celebrate Student Visa Day On June 19 To Advice Student Applicants

US Embassy will organize a Student Visa Day on 19 June 2014 in Delhi when over thousands of students who are applying for higher studies in US will be welcomed and treated to festive and academic atmosphere. 

Embassy will welcome the aspirants who are applying for J, M and F visas to pursue their higher studies in US.

Representatives from Education USA Center at United States - India Educational Foundation and the staff from US embassy will address the event to provide information and tips on academic and campus life for visa applicants. Since October 2013 huge number of students has applied for visas in India. 

This year it is observed that there has been a rise of 40% rise in the issuance of student visas, when compared to the same period in last year. At present around 1,00,000 Indian students are studying in US.

The US Department Of Homeland Security Report Shows Rise In Permanent Residents

The US Department Of Homeland Security Report Shows Rise In Permanent Residents

The US department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a report, which showed that there was a rise in employment based permanent residents in 2013 compared to previous year.

Notably, California holds the first place amongst the US states as a home for new green card holders with nearly 20% of the country’s total. New York, Florida, Texas, and New Jersey are the other cities that have filled out the top five positions.

Out of total 990,000 green cards that were issued, 66% of them were granted to family sponsorship applicants while 16% were approved to employer sponsorship applicants.

The statistics also revealed that the annual diversity lottery constituted 4.6% of new permanent residents.

Mexico was the top country of origin constituting 13.6 % of permanent residents, followed by China representing 7.2%, India constituting 6.9% and the Philippines accounting for 5.5%.

Dominican Republic, Cuba, Vietnam and South Koreas are the other significant countries of origin constituting the permanent residents of the US.

Nations such as Colombia, Nigeria, Jamaica, Haiti, Canada, Pakistan, El Salvador, Nepal, Ethiopia Burma, Iran and United Kingdom, have composed 2.1% or less individually as regards to permanent residents, while 35% of new permanent residents came from other nations all over the world.

Application Fee For Employment-Related Immigration To Dip By $60

In a major development that’s more likely to increase the number of people coming on HIB visa to USA, the high commission has taken a giant leap, which would reduce the fees of employment-related immigrant visas.

Considered as a wise move and hailed by many immigrants, this new decision would come into force this Friday. The sources have said that there would, however, be no change in the applications that are already under the process. This new decision would be applicable to the applications that are filed after the law comes into force this Friday.

Sources have also said that these changes were pending before the US Embassy for quite some time and the same were released to the press recently.

The current employment-related immigration applicants are required to pay $405. The new law would make the applicants, filing their applications after Friday, to pay just $345.

US To Revise Immigration Norms For H4 Visas

The United States is planning to implement certain amendments for H4 visas as part of immigration laws laid over this year. With the intention to lure and uphold skilled workers, the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has proposed work authorization extension to spouses of highly skilled immigrants. 

Currently, the H4 dependent spouses are not permitted to work in the US. However, as per the proposed reforms, they will be allowed to gain access over employment authorization provided the H-1B worker has started the process for a legal US permanent residency through their employment firm.

It has to be mentioned here that the DHS will begin authorizing Employment Authorization Cards (EAD) after executing these reforms. It is expected that this reform will advantage around 100,000 H4 visa holders in this year. 

Under the proposed reforms, immigrants will be able to stay in the country during their waiting period and their spouses on H4 visas will be permitted to work while they wait for Green Cards.  

The U.S. Representative for California's district, Judy May Chu, complemented that the proposed reforms will be a good measure to protect immigrant families.    

Deputy Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, stated that these amendments will assist the US to compete with other nations in attracting the best and the brightest highly skilled workers from across the world. 

   

Moreover, many leading software companies are anticipating that the reform will help them to easily recruit qualified H1-B workers who are not intended to immigrate because of the H4 immigration laws with regards to dependents.

USA EB-5 Visa program

EB-5 Visa, also known as USA Immigrant Investors Visa is an option available for wealthy individuals, which allows the overseas nationals to acquire permanent resident status. Foreign nationals, who invest money in United States, can acquire a Green card through the EB-5 Visa program.

Eligibility for EB-5 Visa

Individuals under EB-5 Visa have to invest $1,000,000 or a minimum of $500,000 into a Targeted Employment Area that would create a minimum of 10 jobs for U.S people, exclusive of the investor and his/her immediate family.

Initial requirement of the foreign investor under EB-5 program is to start a new commercial enterprise.

In this context, the new commercial enterprise means an enterprise

• That was established after 29th November, 1990
• Established on 29th November, 1990 or prior to that date  that was bought and the business in existence has been organized again in a manner that has resulted in a new commercial enterprise.
• Extended the business, due to which the business has resulted in an increase of 40 percent in the number of employees or net worth of the business.

Commercial Enterprise under EB-5 program means any activity that would result in a profit and contribute to the growth of the US economy which includes:

• An individual proprietorship
• Partnership which is either general or limited
• Corporation
• Joint venture
• Holding company
• Other entity or business trust, which may be owned privately or publicly.

If the US government has approved a petition by a foreign applicant under EB-5 program, the investor and his/her dependents would be approved for a permanent residence that is eligible for a period of 2 years. Documentary evidence has to be provided by the investor that complete requirements were met and 10 jobs have been created or that the enterprise would be creating those 10 jobs within a reasonable time span. This evidence has to be provided within a period of 90 days prior to the completion of the valid period of two years.

How to get US EB 5 visa for Indians?

How to get US 

EB 5 visa for

 Indians?

The US Immigrant Investor Program preferably known as US EB 5 visa for Indians is a fifth preference category for employment-based immigration and is created under Immigration Act of 1990. The US EB 5 visa for Indians mainly aims to fuel the US economy through capital investment and by creating jobs. It also offers the permanent residency benefits to immigrant investors. In order to obtain permanent residency through EB-5 visaprogram the foreign investors must satisfy the certain requirements of United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS). Usually, a foreign investor must make sure that the business must be qualified for US EB 5 visa for Indians to get investment. They should also meet the requirements of job creation and the requirements of capital investment amount. Upon successful approval of USCIS, the EB-5 visa applicants, partner and the children under the age of 21 will get a Permanent Residency Green Card.

 Requirements for Job Creation in USA

In accordance with the USICS, the US EB 5 visa for Indians investments should able to create at least 10 jobs for US workers on full time basis. Once the investor receives their conditional permanent residency they must be able to create jobs within two years from then. In case of regional center investment, the  US EB 5 visa for Indians for Indians investor must show only 10 indirect jobs or induced jobs. Indirect jobs are created in businesses which supplies services or goods to EB-5 projects.

 EB-5 Visa Eligibility Criteria

If a foreign investor chooses EB-5 investment program to apply for U.S. residency then they must meet the following requirements:

• The alien investor must have enough legal funds to invest up to $1 million to a US business.
• Form I-526 must be approved.
• The qualified foreign investor can extend their business services or start a new business or purchase a business.
• Within two years of investment the investor must create a full time job for 10 US citizens.