The Hindu Business Line : US bars multiple H-1B filings for same worker

New Delhi, March 20 With barely ten days to go for the start of H-1B visa rush, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today introduced new rules prohibiting companies from filing multiple H-1B visa applications for the same employee. The move is aimed at ensuring a fair and orderly distribution of H-1B visas (used to fill posts ranging from computer programmer to architect), for which USCIS is expected to apply a random selection process to hand out 65,000 new visas under the stipulated cap.

“These changes will ensure that companies filing H-1B petitions subject to Congressionally mandated numerical limits have an equal chance to employ an H-1B worker. USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions,” USCIS has said.

Apex software body Nasscom welcomed the move to streamline the H1B visa process, saying it would eliminate unnecessary malpractices by fly-by-night operators that deny opportunity to genuine applicants. “We do hope that over the years, the overall H1 cap would be increased and the lottery process may not be required. In the previous years when the cap was 1.95 lakh, the overall visa utilisation was only 60 per cent,” Nasscom said.

Exceptions

However, USCIS rules do not prevent related employers (such as a parent company and its subsidiary) from filing petitions on behalf of the same professional for different positions, based on a legitimate business need. On April 1, 2008, companies would scramble to file petition for H-1B workers for fiscal year 2009 starting on October 1, 2008. The current cap is set at 65,000, with an additional 20,000 for holders a US Master’s degree or higher.

Last year, H-1B visas were snapped up on the first day itself, and USCIS received more than 123,000 petitions for the 65,000 visas available. The visa crunch has prompted a pressure from US companies to raise the H-1B visa quota, with the Microsoft Chairman, Mr Bill Gates recently describing the cap as “arbitrary and counterproductive”.

Bills for higher cap

“The current base cap of 65,000 H-1B visas is “arbitrarily set" and bears no relation to the US economy’s demand for skilled professionals, he told a House of Representatives Panel on Science and Technology recently adding that US’ position as the ‘global innovator’ was at risk.

Last week, US Republican Mr Lamar Smith introduced a legislation that would retroactively increase the 2008 visa cap to 1.95 lakh as well as set that level for the fiscal 2009. Democrat Ms Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona also introduced legislation the same week to increase the cap to 1.30 lakh a year.

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