AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

America demands increase in H-1 B visas

Thursday, 6 March 2008

American officials are lobbying for an increase in the annual quota of temporary skilled worker (H-1 B) visas.

Some industry chiefs, such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Compete America, a coalition of industry, research and education institutions, have also begun pitching for an increase in the annual quota.

From April 1, applications for temporary skilled worker (H-1 B) visas will be accepted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for the fiscal year 2009 that begins on October 1.

It is expected that the annual quota of H-1 B visas will be exhausted on the first day itself, as this was the case in the past couple of years.

Currently, the quota is at 65,000 visas a year. 6,800 of these visas are set aside for Chile and Singapore as per their trade agreements with the US.

This means that it leaves only 58,200 H-1 B visas for applicants from the rest of the world.

But experts have their hopes up, because they say as this is an election year, which is not merely the presidential race, but also one for the Congress, the industry may be able to persuade lawmakers to actively consider an increase.

There are also reports of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus introducing a new immigration reform bill, which would focus on illegal immigrants, but hike in H-1 B numbers could be tacked along as well.

Both Republican leaders and Democrats in the US House of Representatives say that any effort at immigration reform should take into consideration the need to ensure that “the best and brightest in the United States and around the world are able to contribute to innovation” in the US.

In October 2007, the House Republican leadership wrote that they must enact legislation that allows US companies to attract and retain highly skilled workers to contribute and excel in the US economy without unnecessary delays and waiting periods.

The letter has also stated that members on both sides of the aisle have supported this in the past and that they're confident that they will do so again.

If you are interested in working and living in the United States, find out for which visa you qualify by doing our free online visa eligibility assessment, which will deliver instant results!